


Harsh Lessons

by Shadows4Twilight



Category: Diabolik Lovers
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2018-07-27 03:52:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 30
Words: 369,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7602328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadows4Twilight/pseuds/Shadows4Twilight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Despite being unsure about making friends, she decided to give the blonde a chance. Unfortunately, it seems to end in disaster every time she turns around. She knew night school wouldn't be normal, but she didn't realize how strange her life was about to get</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that you guys enjoy this story!

Her eyes easily, and quickly, glide over the before her. Her mind easily soaks in the information presented on the page. It was a reading assignment for her upcoming homeroom class, but she didn't mind. The book happened to be one of the rare, yet interesting, ones. Her attention is quite rudely drawn away from the written words when the door opens and slams shut. She flinches at the sound and lifts her gaze from the middle of the page. She attempts to be subtle about staring over the top of her book. She watches the vaguely familiar red haired male stalk to his seat and proceed to flop down into it with a huff.. His uniform was in disarray, though she was positive he hadn't gotten into a fight. In fact, she was almost positive that he was just some lazy rich child having some sort of tantrum. She scrapes her memory for his name, but she can only come up with his first. It was Ayato, if she remembered correctly. She vaguely knew him, since they were in the same homeroom. She hadn't ever actually tried to talked to him. To be honest, she didn't really feel the need to. She hadn't been in the school for long. A few months at most, and she didn't plan on being in school for longer than what was needed to graduate.

Her attention is drawn back to the present upon seeing movement out of the corner of her eye. She peeks over the top of her book a little further to watch Ayato better. The red-haired boy had flopped forward. He was now resting his arms on his desk, with his face buried into them. Apparently, he was completely oblivious to her presence; not that she actually minded much. She didn't really want an over abundance of attention from her classmates. She lowers the book a little more to observe him better. It seemed almost as if he'd fallen asleep, even it it hadn't been that long since he had entered the classroom. It may have been five minutes at the most. It didn't surprise her though. Her light brown eyes drift toward the window. It was pitch black just outside the school, causing the window to become more reflective than normal. It was close to mimicking a mirror. No matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find the moon. It had been cloudy on her way to school, so she assumed that it was simply hidden behind the clouds. She glances back down at the book in her hands. Her eyes scan the page to pick up where she had left off, but she finds herself unable to concentrate on it anymore. She gently places a bookmark in between the pages. She's careful not to make a sound when she sets it on the desk beside a closed notebook and pencil. Class would be starting soon. She could spend the rest of her time daydreaming. Her attention is drawn back up the the reflective window. She barely manages to suppress a scream.

Her body jerks as she spins to face the boy she hadn't heard enter the room. He was dressed in the typical school uniform. He was clenching a dressed teddy bear close to his chest. He wasn't looking at her though. His lips were close to the teddy bear's ear, and he was muttering under his breath. The sound caused goosebumps to raise along her arms. His purple eyes was locked with the window just on the other side of her chair, and it seemed he didn't even notice her. She recognized him from her class as well. A chill runs down her spine at the intense look he is giving the reflective surface. It almost seemed predatory, like he was hungry for something.

Careful to not get tangled in the backpack sitting beneath her feet. She attempts to slip from her desk without alerting her classmate. Thankfully, she manages it. She quickly hurries to the door and slips out in the hallway. That would be the last time she ever tried to go to class early! Her breath catches when she realizes how much the hall had filled. There wasn't truly a lot of students, but it was enough to let her know that the warning bell was likely about to ring. She quickly hurries toward the bathroom. She just needed a moment to collect her nerves. She had carefully been avoiding any sort of interactions with the students around her. It just didn't feel normal to have to go at night.

The wood is cool beneath her hand when she reaches out to push the girl's restroom open. She quickly makes her way to one of the many, empty sinks. She places her hands on the cold sink, leans her weight onto it and lets out a soft breath. She closes her eyes tightly, but she could feel her nerves already cooling off. She silently tells herself that she didn't have anything to be afraid of. They were just kids around her age; not some monsters in a storybook. She was just overreacting. It seemed like she had been overreacting the minute that she had been enrolled in the night school. She couldn't figure out why it took place so late, and she didn't know if it was even open during the day. Her father had laughed off her concerns and attributed it up to the vast amounts of fantasy and horror based books and movies she watched over the years. He had told her that no one at school was out to eat her like some kind of zombie. It had made her feel incredibly embarrassed to even face her father for a few days.

She opens her eyes and lifts her gaze to look at her own incredibly pale complexion. She hadn't been feeling the best lately. The seasons were shifting into the cooler fall, causing colds to start to go around. Her light brown hair was pulled back in a loose braid. It seemed cooler to do it that way, but she was regretting that choice. Her body felt warmer than normal. She nods her head at her own reflection. She had just been overreacting. The purple haired boy sat close to her in class. Maybe he thought he'd seen something outside the window, and it had grabbed her attention. That would be a good reason as to why he had stopped so close to her desk. The memory of him talking to the stuffed bear causes her to shudder. It always struck her as odd that he did that. She briefly wonders if he has some sort of mental problem.

She was sick, and she had just imagined that weird look on his face. He had probably seen some student moving around outside and stopped to look at them. He hadn't once looked her way. In fact, she was sure he hadn't even paid attention when she was being introduced by the teacher a few months ago. Her shaking hand lifts to turn on the cold water. She retrieves a paper towel, wets it, and proceeds to lightly wet her face and neck. The cold water feels amazing against her heated skin. When she got home later, she would skip doing her homework and just go straight to bed. She knew her parents wouldn't mind at all. They worked a variety of strange hours. It was more likely they wouldn't even be home.

Still, she knew that her mother would always make sure that there was a home cooked meal in the fridge, even if it had to warm it. Her stomach twists painfully at the thought of trying to eat anything. Maybe she'd sneak off to the nurse's office during lunch and nap a little to see if that helped. Her heart stops when the sound of a bell rings loudly in the bathroom. She flinches and quickly turns off the water. She dries her face and returns to her classroom.

She tries to silently open the door, but the teacher was standing near it. He gives her a stern look and gestures for her to take her seat. She feels her face flush, and she hurriedly does as she is told. The teacher continues on as if he hadn't been interrupted. He was talking about a new student that would be joining them today. She feels pain jolt through her head, and whispers erupt around her. Slowly, she allows her head to sink to rest on her arms. The teacher had slipped out, likely slipped out to see what was taking the new student so long to arrive.

Finally, a petite blonde with crimson eyes enters, followed by a very annoyed teacher. The girl looked sheepish, and she muttered an apology. He flicks it off and says. "You can sit by Mai. If you have any questions about the materials, please ask her during your breaks."

With that, he begins class. She quickly hurries to the empty seat beside Mai. After that, class seems to drag by, but it's finally lunch time. She releases a soft breath of relief, while she quickly starts to gather her things. She was going to sleep her lunch break away. She didn't really feel hungry.

She is stopped by someone clearing their throat. Mai lifts her gaze to meet friendly crimson ones. The blonde girl offers Mai a shy smile and holds out her hand. Her voice is quiet when she says softly "Nice to meet you. My name is Kumori Yui. You must Mai, correct?"

Mai glances at the outstretched hand, unsure if she should take it. She wasn't feeling the best, and she didn't want to spread her sickness around. Instead, she lifts her gaze back up to meet Yui's. She smiles just as friendly as Yui. "I'd shake your hand, but I haven't been feeling well lately, so I don't want to get you sick."

The tension seems to melt from Yui's face. In fact, her face seems to almost light up. She allows her hand to drop back to her side. "I see. Thank you! So, what are you doing for lunch?"

Mai shoves the last of her books into her bag. She lifts it onto her shoulder. It felt heavier than usual. "I don't have any particular plans."

Yui gives her a smile and says. "It's weird that it's lunch already."

Mai gives her a small smile. It was weird for her at first, too. "We only have three periods, so they are usually long. They'll switch every other day. The classes after lunch are a little shorter, and they don't cover nearly as much material."

Yui nods while she follows beside Mai. Mai's heart sinks a little. It was obvious that Yui wouldn't want to go to the nurse's office with her, and, to be honest, it would be awkward to take a complete stranger with her. Yui gives her a pleasant smile. Mai lets out a soft sigh. They make their way down the hallway, following the excited crowd toward the cafeteria. Yui quietly asks. "Has it always been like this?"

Mai gives her a slightly confused look, while they turn a corner. Yui slows her steps down. For a moment, a pained look spreads over face. Concern swells in Mai's chest, but she didn't know if she should ask if Yui was ok. It seemed like Yui was looking at something, but Mai couldn't see what it was that she was looking at. It just looked like a mass of students. Yui seems to wipe the pained look away after only a minute and casts a smile at Mai. Once more, she picks up her pace. She asks, "do you only go to school at night?"

Mai lightly bumps Yui with her elbow to get the girl to turn into large double doors that lead to a spacious cafeteria. "I only go at night. I don't know if the school is even open during the day. My parents moved here a couple months ago. Their jobs brought us here. They work weird hours, and their boss is sponsoring me to go here. This is a private school. Did your parents move here?"

A sad look passes over her face. "No. My dad is a clergyman. He's currently on assignment overseas, so I am staying with some….. Relatives."

Mai frowns at the pause, but she decides not to ask anything further. They start to pick out their food in silence. Once everything is paid for, they find seats near the door. The cafeteria is full of noise, and it was making Mai's stomach twist painfully. Her headache was making it hard to concentrate. She picks slowly at her food. Yui seemed to be doing the same thing across from her. It was awkward for a few minutes before Mai finds the nerve ask. "You mentioned your dad earlier, what about your mom?"

Yui swallows the small mouthful in her mouth and gives Mai a sad smile. "She passed when I was a baby. I never met her."

"Oh." Mai felt incredibly foolish for asking such a thoughtless question. She ducks her head and shoves a huge amount of food in her mouth. She could just deal with her stomach wanting to reject the food. It was better than openly showing her embarrassment. She keeps her head tilted down toward her plate until Yui hesitantly asks, "so what do you like to do?"

The lunch hour passes quickly once they find a few things that they have in common. This was the first time that Mai had really talked to anyone at school. It felt nice to have what felt like the beginning of a friendship starting. It felt like forever since she had tried to make a friend.

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Time seems to fly by. Before she knows it, it's already been a month since Yui had first appeared. She found Yui to be refreshing. Most of the students came from well off families and had grown up around each other, so it was hard to join in with them. Yui had grown up in a church setting, and she understood how it was to to be common. Mai usually only talked to Yui during lunch though. They only shared homeroom, and Mai spent most of her breaks trying to finish her homework before going home. For lunch, they had found a table close to the door where they would eat in peace.

Lately, Yui had seemed tireder than usual. She had looked frazzled and seemed to be jumping at shadows. Mai simply chalked it up to adjusting to the night schedule. She didn't want to push too far into Yui's private life since they hadn't known each other that long. Yui seemed almost desperate today, which was worrying Mai. She had cast a strangely desperate look behind them on the way to the lunch room. As they passed one of the restrooms, Yui grabbed Mai by the arm and dragged her in. Yui's body was shaking, and she desperately searched the bathroom to make sure they were truly alone. She turns her attention to Mai upon finding that they were truly alone. She lunges toward Mai. Her fingers tangle in Mai's jacket. A jolt runs through Mai, and she finds herself speechless. Yui's eyes fill up with tears. Mai instantly regrets not digging earlier. There was clearly something wrong with Yui. Yui says in a shaky voice. "I have to get a hold of my father! I haven't talked to him since I arrived here. I think he made a terrible mistake!"

Mai wanted to take a step back, but she was afraid that Yui would fall over without her support. Yui's hands turn white from gripping onto Mai's jacket. Fear builds up in Mai's chest. Her mind races with different scenarios that could be happening to Yui, and she reaches up to grab Yui's wrists gently. "Calm down. Can't you just call your dad at your relative's house?"

Yui shakes her head violently. Her knees almost seem like they are going to buckle. This prompts Mai to reach out and grab onto Yui. Yui makes a strange choking noise, causing panic to set in. Mai awkwardly releases one hand and tugs at her backpack. "Hey, Yui. I have my cell phone with me. You told me you broke yours a couple weeks ago, right? Do you still remember your dad's number?"

Yui's sad crimson eyes lift to meet Mai's. Tears were running down her cheeks. A nod is the only answer that Mai receives. Mai forces a smile onto her face. Her fingers brush along the smartphone in one of the pockets. She quickly pulls it out. Yui's eyes fill with hope at the sight. A shiver runs down Mai's spine at the sight. It was like Yui was looking at her only lifeline. Mai pats her shoulder. "Come on. It'll echo really bad in here. Let's go outside."

Panic spreads over Yui's face. She starts to shake her head, and she tugs on Mai's jacket. "But-!"

Mai holds up a hand and says softly. "Do you want someone to come in while you are talking to your dad? Do you want anyone to overhear such a private conversation?"

Indecision spreads over Yui's face. Finally, she seems to give in. Mai passes her phone over to Yui and gestures for her to follow. Yui reluctantly releases Mai. There are a couple of stragglers in the hallway, but they don't seem to pay any mind to Yui and Mai as they pass them. Finally, they make it to a door that leads to the courtyard. Mai glances back at Yui with a smile. She winks and says. "The staff don't lock this door. It only leads to the inner courtyard of the school. So there isn't really a need. Most students don't even bother coming this way either, especially during lunch period. Mai turns back to the door and opens it. "It should be nice and private. I'll wait here in the hallway for to make your call."

"No!" Yui says loudly. Her voice echoes eerily around the empty hallway. She flinches and glances around cautiously. That gesture causes the hair to stand on Mai's neck. She had never seen a person act so cautious before. Yui sheepishly says, "Will you just…. Stay with me? I promise to make it fast! I'll buy you some food after school! I promise! I don't mind if you hear me talking to my father."

Mai felt the urge to just leave. Yui was acting strange. She kept looking around her like she was expecting a monster to jump out and attack them. Mai resists the urge to just deny the girl before her. It seemed like Mai was Yui's only friend in the place. She releases a breath and slowly nods. Yui mutters a quiet thank you. Mai quickly leads the way out into the vast courtyard. At first, she found it hard to believe that a school would need something like a courtyard, but she figured it was something that the rich and privileged had. She leads Yui over to a bench and sits down on it to way. Yui once again mutters a quiet thank you before she steps away. Her eyes are glued to Mai's phone. Mai turns her attention toward the sky. It was a clear day today. The moon hung heavy against a brightly starred backdrop. It looked like it was going to be a full moon soon. Mai finds herself staring at the moon, admiring it's beauty.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" A sultry voice whispers not even an inch from her ear. She lets out a loud cry of surprise,leaps to her feet, spins to face and begins backing away from the bench. There perched beside her with his arm draped casually over the back of the bench was the red haired boy from her class. Her heart is pounding so loud that it's audible to her ears. She takes a few steps back, eyes glued to the boy sitting on the bench. That's when she notices something different. He looked like Ayato, but he clearly was dressed different. He was wearing a fedora on the top of his head. He had fur lined hood resting on the back of his shoulders, though upon closer inspection Mai could see it was attached to a jacket underneath his school jacket. He also had some different features than Ayato.

He casts a flirtatious smile Mai's way, but he doesn't move from his spot on the bench. A warm body presses against Mai's side, but she doesn't look to see who it is. There was only three of them in the garden that she knew of, so she assumed it was just Yui. Mai feels anger swell in her chest once the initial shock wears off. She finds herself snapping. "You know it's not nice to sneak up on someone. You shouldn't invade their space without asking either."

He gives Mai an amused smile and stands up straight. He stretches a little before giving his attention to Mai again. Yui presses closer to Mai, and she sucks in a breath. Mai faintly hears Yui say something, but she can't make it out. Yui's body was shaking against Mai's. The boy takes a step toward them, and Mai takes a matching step backwards, forcing Yui to follow her. "Can't you tell that you are not welcome here?"

Mai moves her hand enough to grab Yui's forearm. Mai just wanted to get as far away from the eerie boy as possible. He hadn't said anything else yet. He just seemed to be observing the two of them. To make it even worse, he had started to cast a leering gaze up and down Mai's body. Mai doesn't get more than a step away before he turns his green gaze to the shaking girl beside Mai. Once more, he says in a playful voice. "What do you think you going to do, dear little Bitch?"

Anger swells in Mai's chest at the nickname directed at her friend. She glances at Yui, feeling even more frustrated that her friend hadn't said a single word of protest to the boy. She turns her attention back on the boy. If Yui wouldn't stand up for herself, Mai would have to do it. "How dare you! You have no right to call her that!"

Mai flinches back when he seems to appear before her, but she has to remind herself that it was impossible to teleport. She just hadn't been paying close enough attention. She fixes a glare on the boy. She didn't want to admit that he seemed to towered over her, and it was imposing considering that his body was almost touching hers. She could feel Yui pressing against her back. The poor girl was shaking so bad that Mai was sure that her own body was shaking. The boy lifts a hand without warning. His fingers run along Mai's jaw, causing her to flinch backward. Yui lets out a startled cry and latches onto Mai even tighter. Yui's weight drags Mai backward with her. Mai flails to grab something, but there isn't anything remotely close to them. The two girls land in a painful heap on the stone pathway. Mai's weight drives the air from Yui's lungs, causing her to cough and gasp for breath. Mai quickly rolls off her friend, concerned that she may have really hurt the petite blonde. The sound of laughter fills the air. Mai casts an infuriated look toward the red haired boy.

"Little Bitch, you know the rules, don't you?" His voice was full of amusement. "You are so lucky it was me that caught you, and not someone like Reji. Though that would have been so much fun to watch him punish you!"

Disgust fills Mai's chest at the lustful voice and look that the boy had displayed. Mai glances at her friend, who had tears in her eyes. She seems to only nod numbly. Confusion takes the place of the disgust in Mai's chest. Mai turns her attention back to the boy to find his retreating back. There was no way she was going to let him get away with what he had said! The least he could do was apologize for making them both fall over. She scrambles to her feet and proceeds to storm after him.

"Mai! Don't!" Yui pleadingly calls after her, but Mai ignores her. She wasn't about to let some boy bully her or her friends. She reaches out grabbing the back of his jacket and jerks on it to get him to stop. He glances back with a curious green gaze.

"Hey! Apologize!" Mai loudly demands. She jerks roughly on his jacket. The curious look is replaced with an amused look on his face. He turns to fully face her, causing her to release his jacket. He leans incredibly close to her face. Mai resists the urge to flinch back. She assumed that was what he wanted, and she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of seeing her intimidated. She just narrows her eyes at him. His breath puffs against her cheeks, and he chuckles. She does flinch away when she feels his fingers brush over her clothed collarbone. Her hand slams over the spot. Her face flushes with irritation and embarrassment. "Don't touch me!"

"My, my. You are a loud one, aren't you? I wonder if you'd make that much noise in bed." He gives her a playful wink. "I'm sure that I can make you make a much different sound. It'll be much more pleasing."

Mai's mouth drops open in pure shock. Had he really just asked her to sleep with him? Who does that to a complete stranger? He once again brushes his fingers along her clothed chest. Only this time, it's much closer to her breasts. She lets out a loud squeal and flinches back even further. "That's sexual harassment! What is your name?! I'm going to report you!"

He lets out a laugh, as if he didn't care. "My name is Sakamaki Laito."

Furious, Mai storms past him, intent on informing the principle of Laito's crude behavior. She says over her shoulder. "Come on, Yui! Let's go."

She faintly hears movement behind her, and she assumes that it's Yui. She jerks the door open and starts down the hallway. She didn't make it that far before her butt is painfully smacked. She lets out yet another startled sound and spins around to find Laito was the one who had followed her. Without a second thought, Mai doubles her fist and swings it at his face. A strange joyful expression spreads over his face, and, to her surprise, Mai's fist connects with his jaw. He doesn't really move much, and it felt like she had slammed her hand into something cold. Her opposite hand wraps around the knuckles of the hand she had used to punch him. It had been chilly outside, but she didn't think it was that cold. She flinches when she hears a teacher call out her name and Laito's names angrily.

Her homeroom teacher appears before her with a stern look on his face. He looks between the two of them, but he doesn't get a chance to say anything. Laito coos softly and reaches out pulling a stunned Mai to his chest. She immediately puts up a struggle, but she finds her body not able to move much. She wanted nothing more than to punch him again. Instead, she is finding it harder to breath the more Laito crushes her against his chest. "We were just playing, teacher."

"That is enough!" Mai feels a hand tugging at the back of her jacket. To her surprise, Laito seems to let her go. She catches sight of Yui's incredibly pale face peeking in from the courtyard. Mai quickly shakes her head as she is pulled away from Laito. She could only hope that Yui would stay out of it and not get in trouble for what had happened. The teacher grabs the back of Laito's jacket and proceeds to drag them both down the hallway, completely ignoring Yui. That seemed to be the best thing to happen that day.

Mai stares at her shoes while she waits for the principal to call her name. Yui had dropped by to bring Mai her school bag and phone, along with a muttered apology. She had ran off before Mai had a chance to thank her. Nervousness bubbles up in her chest, making it hard to breath. She wasn't worried about being in trouble. She was just going to explain to the principle that Laito had been bullying her and her friend. Anger swells in her chest once more when she thinks of the redhead. He had simply chatted with the teacher the whole way there, as if this was an everyday occurrence to him. He was also currently sitting much too close to the secretary, and it seemed like he was muttering inappropriate things to her. The woman didn't seem to mind, if the school girl giggles were any indication. Mai couldn't help but roll her eyes every time she heard one coming from that direction. Finally, the tired looking principle comes out of his office. He is a middle aged, slightly balding man. He wore thick glasses and seemed to have dark circles around his eyes. It was almost like he never saw the sun either since he was so pale. Mai leaps to her feet. This was her chance to tell him what had happened. The teacher had disappeared into his office only to come out ten minutes later, but they had been left waiting a half an hour.

The principle holds up a hand the second that she opens her mouth. He turns his attention to Laito. Laito glances up as if sensing the attention on him. He gives Mai a playful wink, causing anger to surge forward. It looked like this was an everyday occurrence for him.

"Mr. Sakamaki, what have I told you about lewd conduct at school?" He doesn't give Laito a chance to say anything though. Instead, he turns his attention back on Mai. "I had expected more of you."

Mai finds herself stunned. She searches for words, but she finds them all caught in her throat in the form of a lump. The principle continues. "It'd be best not to get caught up in his looks, Miss Mai. He is a troublemaker. For now, you have both been suspended. Mr. Sakamaki, you for touching Mai without her permission. I was informed that she struggled against you, yet you wouldn't let her go."

He turns his attention to a stunned Mai. "You are being suspended for striking Laito. Now, out of my sight before I add a week of detention."

He retreats back into his office. Mai simply stands there staring at the door in complete shock. Why hadn't she been allowed to tell her side of the story? She flinches when she feels a hand brush along her lower back; much lower than she was comfortable with. She jerks away and spins to cast a cold glare toward the smirking redhead. He casually tilts his head and narrows his eyes a little. His voice is low, almost lustful as he mutters, "If I were you, I'd stay away from Little Bitch. She'll cause you nothing but problems."

Mai fills her anger spark once more. She scoffs and proceeds to storm out of the office. A chill runs down her spine upon hearing cold laughter behind her. She doesn't bother casting a glance back though. She was determined to get as far away from him as possible. He was nothing short of creepy, and she didn't want to be around him any longer than she had to be.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you guys enjoy! I am thinking of adding a bit of romance sometime down the line, but I haven't chosen who yet!

The look of disappointment on her mother's face was even worse than the lecture she had gotten from her father the minute she walked in the door after getting suspended. Her mother wasn't an overly tall person, but it didn't change the fact that she was still intimidating when she wanted to be. In fact, Mai stood a good three or four inches over her mother. Her mother barely stood over five feet. Her long chestnut colored hair fell in lazy ringlets down to mid back. It framed her face perfectly. Her face was perfectly round, and her eyes were a deep coffee brown color. She seemed almost perfect to Mai.

A sigh escapes her mother's mouth. Her eyes drift closed, and she lightly taps her foot. "Mai, are you even listening to me."

Mai flinches and lightly rubs her left arm with her right hand. She turns her attention to the floor beside her foot. She mutters softly. "Yes, I am listening, mom. But you don't understand! I didn't even get a chance to argue my case."

Her mother drifts closer to Mai. Her soft voice takes on a warning tone. "You know better than to physically lash out at someone; a boy of all people. You know that he could have hurt you!"

Mai manages to suppress the urge to roll her eyes. Her mother had taken on what Mai liked to refer to as the 'mother tone', and she was also good at over exaggerating things. Her father had lectured her about being suspended and how it would look on the man who was funding her schooling, but it seemed like her mother was worried about some teenage boy being able to hurt her. Mai mutters. "He was bullying us, mom. I wasn't going to stand there and take that."

"Well, you've probably just made it worse for your friend who is stuck there without you. Mai, you should have just gone to someone with more authority." Mai feels her chest deflate. She had tried! Why didn't anyone want to listen to her. She feels arms wrap around her body. Her mother gives a surprisingly tight squeeze. "I'm proud of you for standing up for you and your friend, but it doesn't change the fact that you need to be careful."

Mai leans into her mother tuning out the rest of what was said to her. It was going to be a long week at home. She didn't hate her parents; she actually loved them very much. She had a good relationship with both of them. The problem was that she didn't have anything to do, and she was so used to stay up in the night that she didn't know what she was going to do.

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Time was dragging on a lot longer than she thought it would, but she found that she was able to relax a lot better than she thought she would. She didn't see much of her parents during the week, but she didn't mind. The quietness that came from being alone was just what she needed. She found herself finishing any homework she thought that she might have during the week. She settled for watching every horror movie in her house, and she proceeded to read some leisurely books.

That's where she found herself on the fourth day. She couldn't bring herself to even bother with reading anymore, and, to be honest, she was starting to feel cooped up. Her mother was home, but she was currently sleeping.

She was stretched out on the couch, flicking lazily through the channels to find something to watch. It was later at night, so it seemed like there wasn't really anything on. She lets out a sigh, gets up and grabs a jacket. The sun had just gone down, so it was still lively out on the streets. She didn't think it'd be a problem to take a short walk to clear her head. She was hoping it would make her feel tired.

Unconsciously, her feet lead her to the gates of her school. She stares up at the building thoughtfully. She didn't particularly like school, but she didn't hate it either. She just wanted to get through it and go to college. Her mind drifts to her friend. She hoped that Yui was alright. Mai had been worried about her after what her mom had said. Laito was suspended too, but that didn't mean that Yui was safe. The look on Yui's face the last time she had seen her was still haunting Mai. It was a look of pure terror; something was very wrong in Yui's life. The sound of a familiar voice pulls Mai from her thoughts. Her attention turns toward a familiar blonde girl jogging toward her with a tired smile on her paler than normal face.

"What are you doing here, Mai? I heard you were suspended," Yui mutters once she is close to Mai. She was strangely out of breath, causing Mai to feel renewed worry well up in her chest. Still, Mai forces a smile on her face.

"I was just out taking a walk. Hey, you look tired. Do you want to come to my house for a bit. It'd be easier to rest, and I'd enjoy the company." Movement just past Yui causes Mai's heart to skip a beat for a moment. She was sure that she had saw a flash of red. Her eyes shift to look for it. To her relief, she saw that it was Ayato, if she remembered correctly. He was making his away from a group of boys toward the building. That was odd. Mai didn't think Ayato had friends.

Her attention turns back to Yui, who looked unsure about leaving with Mai. Yui casts a glance behind her. It seemed almost like she was searching for something. Suspicion fills Mai's chest, but she quickly pushes it away. Yui turns her attention back to Mai and starts to shake her head. Mai didn't want to take no for an answer though. How was Mai supposed to find out what was going on the Yui if she couldn't talk to her privately? So Mai reaches out and grabs Yui's forearm. She proceeds to drag Yui down the street away from school. She lets out a hollow sounding chuckle and says, "It's alright to skip once in awhile, you know. Look at me! I haven't been to school for almost a week! You don't always have to follow the rules!"

"Wait! Mai, please!" Yui protests, but she doesn't try to pull away. Instead, the two girls make their way down the street. The crowds were starting to thin out, and Yui had gotten quiet. Mai still had a good grip on Yui's arm though, just in case. A sudden jerk from behind causes Mai to stop and look back at Yui. Yui's attention was on a fast food place they were passing. She glances at Mai with a sheepish smile and asks softly, "Can we get some food? I don't have any money on me right now, but I will pay you back! I think it'd be better to be in a public place anyway. The streets are getting empty now."

It feels like warning bells are going off in Mai's head, but she simply nods. She finally releases Yui, who glances around, then hurries into the restaurant. They both order, Mai pays, and they get their food. For added privacy, they sit in a corner, away from customers and workers alike. It's silent for a few minutes while Mai picks at her food silently. Finally, her eyes lift to look at Yui, who is quietly eating. Mai lightly licks her lips and asks softly, "Are you ok?"

Yui flinches like she had been struck and closes her eyes. A frown settles over Mai's face. There was something seriously wrong here. Did it have to do with the relatives she was staying with? She sets down the fry she had picked up. Yui's hands fall to her lap. Her eyes fall to her lap as well, causing her to end up staring at her legs. She slowly starts to shake her head. Mai flinches when she sees tears falling from Yui's cheeks to land in her lap. Awkwardness fills the silence between the two of them. Mai finally moves to her friend's side and reaches out to awkwardly rub Yui's back in short hesitant circles. "I'm sorry I asked, Yui. You know what? Just forget I said anything. Why don't you tell me about what's been going on at school? Did anyone new break up?"

Yui shakes her head a little, and her face turns to look at Mai with a startlingly desperate look marring her features. Mai leans away, completely taken aback by the look. It takes a little bit, but Yui finally gets a reign on her emotions. Mai returns to her seat across the table. Silence settles over the two of them once more. Mai was silently cursing herself for trying to pry into Yui's life, but it didn't quell the concern she felt in her stomach. Yui is the one to break the awkward silence this time. She starts to tell Mai about how she was sent by her father to live with her relatives, but, upon arrival, she found that she wasn't living with a relative. She was instead stuck with six sadistic brothers. She claimed that their hobbies were torturing people. She was given the choice of which one to 'belong' to. The thought made Mai sick. She couldn't believe that something like that was happening. In fact, Mai was finding it difficult to believe that something like that was truly happening. It sounded more like a bad plot for some stupid horror movie.

Still if it was true, Yui was a human being, not a possession. Mai finds her appetite disappearing the more that Yui speaks. Finally, Yui slows to a halt in the middle of her sentence. Mai scoops her uneaten food up and proceeds to throw it away. With determination, she says. "Come on. We are going to the police. You can stay with my family until we reach your dad. I'm sure that my parents won't mind. They aren't home most of the time anyway."

A look of panic settles over Yui's face. She starts to once again shake her head. "Wait! You don't know who it is! I can't go to the police! They won't allow it! They'll know that I was trying, and they'll stop me! I don't want you to get dragged into this!"

Anger and frustration at Yui swells in Mai's chest. She slams her hands on the table, gaining the attention of a few people in the restaurant. Mai tries to keep her voice contained, and choses to ignore the flinch from Yui, "You have got to be kidding me! You can't just allow this to happen! They aren't going to know that you went to the police until they show up! We can ask to have you put under protection! This isn't some stupid movie where the bad guys are all knowing!"

"There is something you don't understand." Yui mutters.

Mai lets out a soft growl and straightens her body up. "Fine. Don't go to the police. I will though. You made me a part of this when you told me about what was going on. You can't just take it back, and I am not going to just sit here worrying about you. I'm going to do what I can to help you. Don't you know that your relationship with those….. Those… freaks is going to get you killed?"

Mai clenches her fists and turns on her heel. She doesn't slow down her pace, even when she hears Yui call out her name. She was determined to do what she could. She didn't want Yui's death to hang over her head. She barely makes it out into the nearly empty street when Yui catches up to her. Yui grabs her arm and pulls with surprising strength.

"Please don't tell anyone what I told you!" Yui practically begs. Mai attempts to pull her arm away, but Yui clenches it even harder. "They'll hurt you, too!"

"They won't know who turned them in! You'll be in more danger if you go back after they get in trouble!" Mai argues and attempts to continue her on her way to the police station. Yui leans her weight backwards in an attempt to stop Mai from moving. It startles Mai at how light Yui felt. Mai stops trying to walk and turns her attention back. She barely represses the snarl in her voice when she snaps. "I am not going to just sit around waiting for something bad to happen to you, Yui! Don't you understand?"

"It's you who doesn't understand! The police won't stand a chance against them! They aren't normal!" Yui's voice had a pleading tone. Once more, tears were filling her eyes, only they didn't fall this time. She just clenches her eyes as tightly as she can.

"Then why don't you tell me everything!" Mai snaps, but Yui simply shakes her head. Mai can't stop herself from rolling her eyes at Yui's behavior. She jerks roughly on her arm. "Let me go, Yui. I am going to the police. I'm sure they'll be able to talk to the school and find out where you live. They'll get a hold of your father and let him know what is going on."

"No, I just… I just need to talk to my father!" Yui desperately says. Mai's anger is still burning, but she feels it cool a little at the watery voice Yui uses. She finally uses her free hand to search her pockets before she finds her phone and passes it over to Yui. Yui stares at it, dumbfounded, for a moment. Finally, she releases Mai and grabs the phone, but she doesn't even start to dial her father. Instead, she mutters something under her breath, but Mai can't quite hear what she said.

"What?"

Yui's hands lands on Mai's shoulders, and she casts an anxious look around the empty street. She starts to push Mai along, who didn't do much to protest until Yui started to push her down a dark alleyway. Mai knew that horror movies weren't real, but murders and druggies were. Mai was certain that at least one of them would be lurking in an alleyway like this exact one. "Hey, Yui, it's not a good idea to step out of the eye of the public this late at night."

Yui doesn't answer. Instead, she continues to push Mai. Mai only takes step into the alley before halting. She completely refused to go any further than that. The alleyway didn't reek like she thought it would, but it was still filled with grime and trash cans. It also looked uninhabited, but there were plenty of places to hide. She finally turns to face Yui, who was looking around her as if she expected a monster to leap out at her. Finally, crimson eyes lock with Mai's brown ones. Yui's voice is very low as she mutters. "They are vampires. The police can't help."

Mai stares at Yui not quite believing what she was hearing. Finally, Mai closes her eyes and starts to shake her head. Rage builds up in her stomach. Was Yui just toying with her emotions? "If this is meant to keep me from going to the cops, you are wasting your time. I'm not gullible enough to believe in such things, Yui. Vampires are only scary to little kids. They aren't even real."

Yui's trembling hands grab the front of Mai's jacket. Her face looks desperate. "The Sakamaki's are all vampires! I live with them! They said that if I tried to escape, they would know and I'd be killed!"

Her voice disappears into incoherent mumbling. Mai only manages to catch a few words here and there like the name Subaru and cellphone. She thought she heard Ayato's name, but she wasn't sure. Mai can only stare as her brain tries to catch up with what Yui is babbling. Sakamaki was Laito's last name. He certainly wasn't a vampire. He was just some rich kid who thought the world revolved around him. Finally, Yui closes her eyes and says loudly. "Ok! Stop!"

Everything falls silent. Yui is staring at her feet with wide eyes. Mai opens her eyes and rubs the back of her neck. She tries to think over what Yui was telling her. "You must not be sleeping well. I mean, vampires? Really? Yui, this isn't even a funny joke. I was really worried about you, you know."

Yui looks up. Her mouth opens, but Mai holds up a hand to stop any words from spilling out. "No, Yui. This is insane. You just need to call your dad and come with me to my house. It's clear that there is something weird going on. You've been trying to get a hold of your dad for a while now. We'll talk to my parents about what we should do. You need to relax and settle down."

Two arms wrap around Mai from behind. Her body tenses, and the arms pull her close to a body. Without much effort, Mai is dragger further into the alleyway. Yui quickly follows after Mai with a mixed look of concern and panic. Mai's heart starts to race. Mai instinctively opens her mouth to let out a scream, but a cold hand is pressed against her mouth. She tries to slam her head back into the person behind her, and she lifts her foot to slam it down on her attacker's. She knew it was a bad idea to go down an alleyway. Why did she think it'd be a good idea to turn her back on one?

The hand on her mouth simply pushes her head back along with her momentum. Her head collides with something hard, making her feel dizzy for a moment. Her foot slams down on something, and she hears a satisfying grunt behind her. However, much to her horror, the person didn't let her go. They just adjust their grip so that their arm is around her ribs, just below her breasts.

"Now, now. No need to play rough here, unless you want everyone else to see us having such fun. I for one wouldn't mind an audience." The horribly familiar, sultry voice mutters much too close to her ear. She can feel a cool breath against the skin of her neck, cheek and ear. Her eyes widen for a moment. She recognized that voice! It was a voice she never wanted to hear again, so she reaches her hands up to pull desperately at Laito's hand. He lets out an amused chuckle. His hand doesn't even bunge though. Mai's eyes turn to look at Yui. She tried so hard to tell her to run with just her eyes, but Yui wouldn't even look at her. Her crimson eyes were locked on the male behind her. Mai was screaming in her head at Yui to run and find someone to help them! Mai once more lifts her foot and slams it back down on Laito's foot. If Yui was frozen in fear, than Mai would just have to try to free herself. He lets out a hiss of irritation, and his arms squeeze her painfully tight. Her ribs were starting to hurt. Mai releases a wheezing sound, but it is muffled by his cold hand. She feels his lips brush her ear this time, and she shudders; even his lips felt insanely cold. "That's it. It's so much more fun when they struggle."

That wasn't what she wanted to hear. Those words set her heart racing. She wanted to hear anger in his voice. Instead, it seemed like he was enjoying the fact that she was struggling. That didn't mean that she was going to give up though. She wasn't able to pull his hand away, so she decided to try a different route. She begins to dig her nails into the skin of his hand and wrist. While doing so, she continues to attempt to pry his hand off of her mouth. She had to get away from this crazy boy before he did something truly twisted to her. She drops her weight, but it doesn't seem to affect him. He just effortlessly keeps her pressed against himself.

"Laito, please!" Yui suddenly says. Mai didn't pause to look at her though. She just squeezes her eyes tightly shut. She lifts and slams her foot as hard as she can down onto his. He finally releases a satisfying hissing noise. Unfortunately, he doesn't release her. Panic was coating every muscle in her body. It was making it hard to breath through her nose. In fact, it felt like she felt wasn't able to breath. For a moment, he pulls his hand away from her mouth. She sucks a small amount of air in, ready to scream at the top of her lungs. Sadly, she is quickly stopped. His hand closes over her nose as well as her mouth. Her eyes snap open as raw, wild panic settles in her stomach like a cold hard knot. Instinctively, she starts to struggle even harder. She hadn't gotten a good breath before he had cut off her air supply, and it felt like her lungs were already screaming for air.

"Now, now, Little Bitch, you know I love that desperate look on your face, but I am not interested in your tears. You caused this. You were told not to try to seek help. You were told you can't run away, or you would be killed. Did you think that the rule only applied to you?"

Mai begins to claw at his abnormally freezing hand instead of just digging her nails into his flesh. Laito made some noises, but they sounded closer to groans of pleasure than they did sounds of pain. It felt like an eternity had passed since she had air. Their voices were fading away into her panic stricken mind. The only thing she could think was that she needed to get his hand away from her mouth and nose. She feels his chest rumble with laughter. It makes her feel sick to her stomach that he is finding amusement in this. Maybe Yui hadn't been wrong. Maybe she was really living with sadistic brothers. She squeezes her eyes as tight as she can. It felt like the strength was draining from her body, but she still tried to fight. She didn't want to die! There was still so much she hadn't experienced. She was much too young to die!

Finally, she is dropped to the ground in a large gasping heap. She greedily sucks in breath. Each breath felt sweeter than the last, and she was suddenly immensely grateful to have oxygen again. Her mind trying to clear the lingering sense of haze from her mind. Her head groggily lifts from the filthy ground when a hand touches her back. Concerned crimson eyes lock with her clouded brown ones. Mai flinches back a little, but her body relaxes after a few moments. It was Yui; she didn't have anything to fear. She just lets her head hang for a while, trying not to let it touch the gross ground again. She still felt dizzy and sick to her stomach. She just wanted to go home.

"What is wrong with him?!" Mai finally manages to snarl. Her voice was hoarser than it was before. She clenches her fists tightly. She never wanted to see that boy again. With Yui's help, she manages to get back up to her feet. The dizziness was clearing, so she was able to walk on her own. Yui muttered an apology every few seconds, but Mai waved it off with a "It's not like you did it to me. Don't worry about it."

"It was my fault though," Yui mutters quietly. She looked close to tears, but Mai wasn't sure that she should reach out and comfort her. Mai wasn't naive enough to say that it wasn't Yui's fault. Laito had referred to her every time he had appeared before Mai. It seemed like it was Yui's fault, but Mai couldn't find it in her heart to hate the small blonde. With a sigh, Mai reaches out to give Yui a comforting hug. Yui quickly hugs Mai back.

If only it ended there.

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She was finally able to return to school. It felt like her suspension hadn't been long enough, and, as a result, she was running late to school. She had overslept, but she was positive that she had set her alarm. What scared her the most was the fact that the whole clock was missing from her room. Nothing else was, so she couldn't prove that someone had been in her room, but it still made her feel uneasy.

Her footsteps sound insanely loud in the school hallway. She had ended up running most of the way to school, so she was out of breath on top of everything else. She was embarrassed, and she was worried that she would smell like sweat. She's not sure how, but she makes it to her homeroom without actually being late.

She makes it to her desk just as the warning bell goes off. She's surprised to see that Yui is missing from her usual seat beside Mai. Instead, the purple haired boy is sitting there. Mai glances around wondering if their seating assignments had been changed during her absence, but it seemed like no one else moved. Perhaps the purple haired boy was just moving on his own. Mai shrugs it off. If he wanted to get in trouble, it wasn't her problem. Mai lets her bag drop off of her shoulder. It lands with a loud thud by her feet. She slides into her chair just as the teacher steps into the room. A small pain races up her spine. Startled, she leaps to her feet. "Son of bitch!"

All eyes turn to her. Her thighs had hit the bottom of her desk, shoving it into the chair in front of her. The girl in front of Mai turns to gives her a glare.

"Mai! Sit down!"

Without saying anything, Mai moves away from her desk. Her butt still stung, but she wasn't about to touch it in front of everyone to find out why. She would escape to the bathroom and find out in the privacy of one of the stalls. She wasn't sure how it had happened, but the strap of her bag had gotten wrapped around one of her ankles, causing her to lose her balance. She lifts her arm to keep her head from colliding with the wall beside the window. She lets out a cry of pain and humiliation as the class erupts into laughter. The teacher hurries toward her. She is briefly thankful that she doesn't sit on an inside row. She turns to free her legs from the backpack. Pain races up her spine again, bringing tears to her eyes. Her ankle hurt where she had twisted it on the way down. Her elbow had hit the wall first and took the brunt of her fall. It was throbbing in time with her heart. She was now positive something was stuck in the flesh of her butt.

It doesn't matter how stubbornly she fights her tears, they still start to leak down her face, much to her humiliation. The teacher crouches beside her and quickly detangles her ankle from her bag. He assists her to a standing position. She flinches when she puts too much weight on her now sore ankle. She had never tripped over her bag before. In fact, she prided herself in not being a klutz.

With the help of her teacher, she makes it to the nurse's office. She carefully lays on her side in a bed, while the teacher explained what happened in a quick rundown. While he is doing so, Mai reaches back to run her hand along the sore area on her butt. She closes her eyes silently thanking the nurse for closing the privacy curtain. She flinches when there is another sting. It's hidden between one of the ruffles on her skirt. She can feel the tip of a tack. It was one that didn't have an easily gripped head. In fact, the top was smooth and flat. She has to dig her fingers around it to pull it out. She grits her teeth hard to keep from making any noise and alerting the adults. She didn't want to embarrassingly tell the nurse that she had sat on a tack.

The nurse appears around the sheet that separates her bed from several others just after Mai pulls tack out. She quickly hides it in the blankets around her. The nurse gives Mai a pleasant smile. She was an older woman, in her mid-forties. She wore a long skirt and button up blouse with a white doctor like cloak over it. She wore flat heeled dress shoes to finish her look. Her black hair was turning to a white color, and it was cut in a bob style. She sits on the edge of Mai's bed with a caring look on her face.

"Want to tell me what happened, sweetheart?"

Mai forces a smile. "I thought I was going to throw up. I must have gotten careless. I didn't realize I had sat my bag that far forward. My ankle got tangled in it, and I went down. How stupid is that?"

The nurse gives a good natured chuckle, but it was clear in her face that she didn't believe a single word Mai had just said. She gestures downward with a clear question on her face, and Mai gestures to her throbbing ankle. The nurse carefully removes the shoe and sock. Mai flinches each time it's moved. There was a terrible black bruise forming already, and it was swelling. Mai sucks in a sharp breath as the nurse gently probes at it with her fingers. She gives Mai a reassuring smile. "Well, good news is I don't believe that it's broken. It's just sprained. I'll wrap it up and get you an ice pack. You'll have a limp for a few days, but it will go away before you know it. Now, let's see that elbow of yours."

Mai had hit hard enough to split the skin, but it wasn't anything a bandage couldn't fix. There was some swelling around the cut, but she didn't mind at all. Just as the nurse was leaving, Mai called out to her. "Um, actually can I please have some extra bandages? Just incase I have to replace the one on my elbow."

The nurse smiles kindly at her. "You won't have to, but I'll give you a couple extra just because you asked so nicely."

Relief flood Mai's body. The woman disappears from sight. She returns with the extra bandages. With practiced ease, the nurse wraps Mai's ankle with the icepack. Mai thanks her and waits for her to leave before she applies a bandage to her butt. She was completely embarrassed to do so, but it was better than having the nurse do it. After she is done, she settles into the back into the bed. She didn't want to go to class now. She just wanted to go to sleep. In fact, she never wanted to go to class again. It would take forever for the students to stop talking about what happened, and her ankle was still throbbing. The nurse hadn't told her to get back to class, and Mai didn't plan to leave until she was told to or school ended.

Her eyes feel incredibly heavy. A short nap wouldn't hurt anyone, would it? Maybe after she woke, this horrible nightmare would be over. She doubted it would be, but it'd at least feel less embarrassing.

She wiggles until she is comfortable, and she allows herself to finally drift off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please enjoy! (:

It had been a month and a half since the tack on her chair, and the childish pranks never stopped. They happened every single day; sometimes multiple times. It was starting to feel like a never ending story. They ranged from a variety of painful or sticky things on her chair to stuff being put in her food at some point. It was starting to truly wear on her nerves. It felt like every time she turned around there was some sort of disaster happening to her. Most of the students were snickering about her misfortune behind her back, but they also gave her a wide berth. The last thing they wanted was to get caught up in whatever mess Mai had brought down on herself. Every day, Yui would apologize to her over and over.

Today had to be the worst day yet. She had thrown up every ounce of her lunch, and she still felt a little sick to her stomach. She might just bring food from home and keep it under a carefully watchful eye. She didn't feel like risking getting sick every single day. She had a feeling that Laito was behind her torment, but she had no way of proving it. She hadn't caught him in the act. In fact, it had been a while since she had even seen him.

Currently, she was just finishing up her p.e. class. She felt oddly sore and just wanted to head home. She would shower once she arrived in the safety of her house. She arrives at her locker to find that it had been raided. Her book bag, clothes, and other belongings were missing. In their place was a sloppily written note. It told her exactly where to find her items. To her displeasure, they seemed to be spread over all over the school.

Suspicion fills her chest. This wasn't going to end well for her at all, and it looked like she was going to spend the rest of the night looking for her things while the other students left. She slams her p.e. locker shut with more force than she meant to. She ignores the whispers and stares of the other girls. It was a scary thought to spend the night alone in such a large school, even if it was for only a few hours before sunrise.

"I will kill him. I swear I will. I'm going to strangle his pretty boy ass!" She growls. She unconsciously wrinkles the paper up in her hand when she creates a fist. She takes a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Finally, she makes her move. The whispers grew louder while she was leaving. It would probably spread around the school that she was crazy on top of being cursed. Embarrassment fills her chest, but she pushes it away. She wouldn't be here forever. She only had to suffer for little more than a year. She kept reminding herself of that as she began her search.

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She was positively livid. Whoever stole her stuff had gone through her bag, causing her to have to search for all of her things individually. All of the students had left long ago. In fact, it would be dawn in close to an hour. Mai rounds the hallway on her way to the last place on the list for her school jacket. She had managed to change out of her gym clothes when she had found her skirt and button up shirt. Her stomping footsteps slows to a halt when she hears hauntingly beautiful piano music. Her heart and mind both start to race. In the movies, this is where the girl follows the sound and ends up dead. This was clearly some type of trap, and Mai was positive that she wasn't about to fall for it. Without second guessing her choice, Mai spin on her heel and retreats back the way she had came from.

"Screw the jacket. I might get written up for not wearing it. I might get grounded for getting in trouble or whatever, but I am not stupid. I'm not going any closer to that music," she mutters to herself. She starts down a set of stairs ready to just throw in the towel She had found almost all of her belongings, and that was good enough for her. She readjusts the book bag on her shoulder since it was sliding off. She quickly rounds the corner and collides with a solid body. Hers bounces back, and she scrambles to keep her balance. Thankfully, it's not as hard to keep it as she thought it would be. She glances up to apologize, but she loses her voice.

A set of cold purple eyes were glaring at her almost hatefully. His grip on his teddy bear was tighter than normal. She found that couldn't remember his name at all, even though they shared a homeroom.

"Well?" He demands coldly. Confusion fills her body. Was he trying to ask her something?

"What?" She realizes just how much of a mistake that simple question was when his eyes flash angrily. Fear races through her body; he looked almost evil when a crazy smile starts to spread over his face. How did his emotions change so quickly? Before she can even react, he doubles his free fist and swings it at her. His fist collides hard with the side of her head. She stumbles back and trips over her own feet landing painfully on her butt. She felt completely stunned by the sudden hit. Her mind was still trying to catch up to what exactly had happened. Her mind barely registers the fact that the strap of her book bag had slipped off of her shoulder and pooled around the hand she had set back to keep herself from falling onto her back. He was going to strike so randomly, the last thing she wanted to be was defenseless on her back.

"Where are your manners, you stupid woman?! You ran into Teddy and me! Yet, you can't even say you're sorry?!" Mai feels anger fill her chest, but she doesn't get a chance to even move before the next few blows rain down on her. Luckily, she manages to lift her arms in time to protect her head. Pain laces her arms each time his fist connects, but she found that to be much better than having him hitting her in the face and head.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! I was going to apologize and see if you were alright!" Mai practically snarls at him. Thankfully, that seems to get him to stop punching her. She looks up at him from between her forearms. She didn't dare drop her protective gesture. Curiosity colors his face. He tilts his head a little, and he leans forward just a little. Mai's heart starts to quickly pick up the pace. Was he about to hit her again? She had to do something before he did. There was no way that she was going to let him lash out at her again without at least trying to fight back.

She doesn't even bother to glance around for a weapon. She didn't want to alert him to her intentions. She'd just blind side him like he had done to her. She decides to just uses the first thing to come to mind. Her school bag, full of heavy textbooks, is her spontaneous weapon of choice. Her hands drop to the strap at her side. Her hands scoop it up quickly and swings it as hard as she can. She lets it go before she feels it connect with him. Thankfully, she hears it connect, but she doesn't wait to find out where it connected. Instead, she had already twisted and started a scrambling crawl to her feet. Once on her feet, she quickly finishes rushing up the stairs. She silently curses herself for leaving her phone behind, but she figured it would be a worthy sacrifice. There was no way that she was going to turn around and retrieve it. Her head was hurting where she had been struck and so were her arms. That was more than enough reminder that she just needed to get away. She glances over her shoulder at the slew of shocking insults directed at her from the boy. It sounded almost like he was having a tantrum.

With her heart beat now wildly racing, she tries to pick a room that she knew had plenty of hiding places. She didn't see the angry boy giving up chasing her, especially since she hadn't actually apologized him. She didn't see hitting him with her book bag making him very happy either. Her footsteps slow once she realizes the haunting piano music was gone. She hated to admit it, but the music room would likely have the best hiding places. There were plenty of instruments to hide behind. The drama room would be better, but it was down one level on the opposite side of the school. She didn't think it'd be a good idea to make a break for that particular room. The chances of getting caught increased the longer that she stayed out in the open. She glances over her shoulder once more. It seemed like his voice was getting closer.

She mentally curses her luck and quickly locates the music room. If the piano had stopped, it meant whoever was practicing was gone, at least she hoped they were. The last thing she needed was someone like Laito showing up. She's spurred to open the door before her when she hears the purple haired boy yelling about how he was going to 'punish' her by slowly stabbing, and twisting, a dull knife in her body until she was inches from death. The threat sent a chill down her spine. What was wrong with that boy?! She quickly enters and is careful to close the door quietly behind her. She closes her eyes tightly for a moment and takes a deep breath. She turns to face the room around her to make sure that it really is empty. To her relief, she doesn't see anyone. Where should she hide? There were several large closets lining the opposite wall. A variety of cases that held larger instruments lined the left wall, while the piano sat against the right wall. There were long curtains partially covering the windows. Mai's eyes flick back and forth. Panic was making it hard for her to focus. The closets were out of the question. There was no escape route if he wandered into the room and looked in there. She would be a sitting duck. That was always the first place people looked anyway. She was also worried that if she tipped one of the instruments over climbing behind them, that would give her position away. She wasn't sure that she would be able to set it back up without knocking something else over. Her eyes settle on the piano. It wouldn't hide her at all. Maybe the music room wasn't the best idea. There wasn't any backing out now, but she was starting to regret her choice.

That's when she notices her jacket neatly folded on the bench sitting before the piano. Chills race up and down her spine. She had actually forgotten about it. Cautiously, she makes her way toward the bench to retrieve her jacket. She jumps when she hears a banging noise behind her. It felt like her heart was going to explode. The boy must be throwing open doors and looking inside the rooms around her. She turns and quickly returns to the door to lock it. It might not stop him completely, but it would likely slow him enough that she could possibly hide better. She would take her chances with the large instrument cases. She retrieves her jacket and rushes over. To her relief, they didn't sit against the wall like she had thought they did. She also found a drum set that she hadn't noticed before, as well as a covered harp. Both were tucked into the corner, so, in her haste, she had simply overlooked them. She hoped that her pursuer would do the samething too. She chooses the harp to hide behind just as the door handle starts to rattle violently. She tightly closes her eyes trying to keep her breathing as low and slow as possible. She refrains from covering her ears, though she really wanted to block out the horribly rattling sound. She wanted to be able to hear if he made it inside the room. She had to figure out a better way to protect herself than just her book bag. This was getting out of hand.

She finds herself silently praying that she got out of this without any more injuries. To her surprise, the rattling stops. Still, she didn't move. There was no way that she was going leave the safety of her hiding place to see if he had actually disappeared. She would just wait for a while and hope for the best. She didn't want to increase her chances of running into the enraged teenage boy by wandering around while he was still at school.

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Her muscles were in pain from crouching behind the harp for an extended period of time. The morning sun was pouring in through the window. Mai could tell she was dozing, because she kept almost losing her balance. It's not until she leans against the harp, almost knocking it over, that she finally makes up her mind that it's truly safe to move. Her body protests to her movement when she starts to stand. She lets out a groan of pain and moves slowly toward the door. Surely the boy wouldn't hold a grudge against her and wait around this long, would he?

It came as a relief to find the hallway empty. She quickly makes her way down the stairs, desperately looking for her book bag. This bullying was getting out of hand. She needed something to protect herself with. She just didn't know how she was going to convince her parents to let her get a weapon. She was sure that her parents wouldn't agree to her getting pepper spray or possibly some sort of pocket knife under the pretext that she was getting bullied.

She releases a sigh when she can't find any sign of her bag on the stair well. She reluctantly creeps her way out of the school, still on high alert for the purple haired boy. She casts a glance around the front of the school before she walks as fast as possible out the gate and down the street. Thankfully, she makes it home without another incident.

Her father was anxiously pacing the living room, and her mother was sitting on the couch with a pale face. She was gripping her clothes and staring worriedly at the door. Both lunge at her the second she enters the house. They talk over each other, telling her how worried they were and asking where she had been. She tries to answer, but she's unable to once her mother wraps her in a strong hug. Her father wraps his arms around the two of them, and everything falls silent. Mai felt so tired. All she wanted to do was go up to bed. She'd have to get up later tonight to go to school. A thought crosses her tired mind. Maybe this was her chance to get something to defend herself with. She wiggles around until her parents release her.

Her father is the first to say something. Anger was lacing his voice. "Where were you?!"

Her mind races for an excuse, and she says the first thing that comes to mind. "I was with my friend. Remember me telling you about her? Yui? Well, we were going to run to a late night fast food place just to go over our homework for homeroom."

Her mother gives her a concerned look. "Why didn't you call and tell us?"

Mai tries to give a casual shrug. "Well, I left my phone in my p.e. locker at school, so we went back for it. On the way, we ran into some drunks."

Mai flinches. She hated lying to her parents, and the lie she was crafting just felt so false. Her parents share a look with each other. Worry bubbles up in Mai's chest. It didn't look like they were going to believe her. She didn't honestly know if she could buy a pocket knife without consent. Using an unsure tone, her mother says. "She goes to school so late at night, and she usually walks to and from school alone. Maybe we should get her something to protect herself with."

Upon hearing that, relief floods through Mai's body. Her father was still staring at her intently, which caused nervousness to bubble up once more. The silence becomes tense as they all wait to see what her father would say. He releases an almost defeated sounding sigh and nods. "Fine. We'll get her some pepper spray."

Relief settles over her. At least she would have something to protect herself with now. She didn't want to sound greedy, but there was something else she wanted to ask her father for.

"Hey, dad?" Mai asks cautiously. She hesitates once she is given his full attention. How was she going to ask him for a pocket knife, too? A good excuse doesn't come to mind right away, so she decides to just ask straight out and see what happened. "I was wondering if I could get both pepper spray and maybe a pocket knife. Just for extra insurance?"

Her father stares at her silently for few moments. It seemed like he was considering it, which gave Mai a small tendril of hope. His tone is serious when he finally asks, "Mai, is something going on at school?"

Mai flinches under the intense gaze of both of her parents. She was sure that they couldn't see the bruise on her head, and her jacket hid the ones on her arms. She quickly shakes her head 'no'. She wanted to tell them about the bullying, but she didn't have proof that it was happening. No one had changed how they behaved toward her. In fact, she hadn't seen Laito at all in weeks, and she was now starting to believe that maybe she had been wrong in accusing him. The only proof she had was a still missing alarm clock and the cruel pranks at school. She was also afraid that it might hurt her chances on getting the pocket knife. Her father might say that she might get too emotional and end up hurting someone accidentally. He could still say that, but she felt like she had better hope this way. She would actually collect evidence and show it to her parents to support her claim that someone was out to harm her. For now, she had some unseen bully and her own word. That didn't seem like much, and the last thing she needed was it getting any worse. Still, she had no doubt that her parents would believe her, but she didn't think the school system or law enforcement would believe her.

"Where is your book bag?" Her father sternly asks. Mai's heart skips a beat. She had missed that detail. She turns her gaze away and lightly licks her lips. The silence continues to stretch, but Mai couldn't figure out what to say. Whatever she said now wouldn't even be believable since she had paused for so long.

"Let her be, dear. I'm sure she is tired. It's almost noon. We'll talk about it more after she gets back from school tonight." Her mother gently says. Her mother proceeds to lightly prod her father out of Mai's way. Mai had never felt more grateful for her mother as she did then. Before her father can change his mind, she rushes up the stairs to her room. She barely manages to change out of her school uniform before she collapses onto her bed. She felt gross, but she was too tired to try to get out of bed and wash off the day's grime. She told herself that she would have to wake up sooner than normal to go with her dad to get the self defense items. She drifts off to sleep without another thought.

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She feels a hand shaking her and lets out a groan of protest. It felt like she had just closed her eyes. It couldn't be time for school already, and she didn't want to get up. She bats the hand away and rolls onto her stomach. Her arms around her pillow and buries her face into it. Her voice is muffled, but still intelligible, at least to herself. "Leave me alone. Five more minutes, mom."

She hears a deep chuckle, which should have alerted her to the fact that something was wrong. The clinging dregs of sleep was slowing down her thought process. The bed shifts, which should have been another warning sign. Her mother never sat on her bed; she'd just shake Mai until she finally woke up. The movement did bring her out of her sleep a little more. She frowns into her pillow. She couldn't hear her mother breathing at all. Her eyes open a little, and her heart starts to race. She had her face buried, so she couldn't see anything but her pillow. No one could have slipped into their house unnoticed during the day, could they have? Nothing happens for a few seconds, and Mai considers spinning to see who is in her room. Maybe her mind had just tricked her.

She finally works up the courage to roll quickly and see who is sitting on her bed. Her eyes find nothing out of the ordinary. Her heart was still racing in her chest. She wanted to say that she must have just been half asleep and therefore dreaming, but it felt like she was being watched. Chills race up and down her spine. She glances at where her alarm clock should be out of habit. Her breath catches in her throat. A blood red was sitting on the stand beside her bed. She quickly scrambles out of bed scooping up the rose. She quickly rushes to the window and opens it. It was close to dusk, so she would have to hurry to get to school on time. She considers throwing the rose out the window, but a thought occurs to her. Maybe she tell her parents. This was evidence that something was going on. She decides that it's best to resist the urge to throw the rose away. She was sure that it'd become valuable evidence. She closes the window, spins on her heel and retreats down the stairs. She desperately hoped that her parents were home.

Thankfully, her hopes are answered. A mouthwatering smell hits her nose the second that she makes it to the bottom of the stairs. She follows the smell to the kitchen where her mother is scurrying around with practiced ease. She casts a smile at Mai. Mai returns it then lifts the rose. "Did you or dad bring this rose to me?"

Her mother had turned her back on Mai, but she shakes her head. She moves over to the stove to stir something. Her body was in the way, so Mai couldn't tell what it was. It smelled like pasta though. Her mother's excited voice makes Mai hesitant to talk about the bullying. "No, I haven't, and I don't believe your dad did. Your dad has already gone to work, and I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to wake up. Oh! He dropped by the store and got you some pepper spray and a small pocket knife for you. It's on the table."

Mai's eyes snap to the table. Relief floods her body, and she finds herself rushing over to the bag. She opens it to peek in. The pocket knife didn't look like it was going to be very sturdy, but it didn't matter though. All it had to do was deter anyone who wanted to harm her. She could now protect herself, which came as a huge relief. She sets the rose on the table in favor of picking the bag up. Her mother's humming voice starts to soothe her frazzled nerves. She hated to tell her mom about the bullying when she was clearly in such a good mood, but Mai wasn't sure that she should keep it a secret anymore. She turns to tell her mother only to find a large, dirty spoon inches from her nose. She jumps back into the table causing her mother to laugh. It looked like they were indeed having pasta if the red sauce clinging to the spoon was any indication. Her mother drops the spoon and gives Mai a playful smile.

"Those are not toys. Don't be using them willy nilly. We are showing a great deal of trust in you, got it? You've always been so level headed. Now, you better hurry and get dressed. School will be starting soon, and you didn't bring your books home, so I don't think you did your homework. You'll have to cram as much as you can before school starts." Her mother turns back to the stove.

"Mom, I have something to tell you."

Mai's mother casually flicks her hand over her shoulder in a shooing gestures. "I'll be here when you get home. I have the next few days off. We'll talk then. For now, you need to get to school, and I need to keep from burning this food. It'll be here and ready to warm up when you get off school. I'll be making some cookies, too!"

Mai frowns as her mother makes another shooing gesture. Her mother was stubborn, and it looked like she didn't plan to talk to Mai. Mai pulls the bag close to her chest and hurries up to get ready for school. She would just have to wait to tell her mom about what was going on. She finds a nasty looking bruise on her both of her arms from where the purple haired boy had hit her. She flinches. She wasn't sure how her mother had missed the bruises, but it looked like she did. She needed to pay attention in class to figure out his name so she could report him if he ever attacked her again. She lightly probes around in her hair where she had been struck. She flinches at the sting. She probably had another bruise there. She was happy it was easily hidden.

She gets in the shower and proceeds to get ready for school. Her mother was right. She was running late again. She calls out a 'goodbye' to her mother on her way out and hurries to school. She would have to report that her book bag had been stolen, so she wouldn't have any textbooks or homework. She had shoved the pepper spray in one pocket of her jacket, and her pocket knife in the other. She would be prepared if they confronted her again.

Luckily, she makes it to school before the warning bell, though she wasn't sure how. Her first stop was her classroom. She had to see if her teacher was there before she set off looking for him. She pulls the door open and peeks inside. It's surprisingly empty, but something still catches her eye. Her bag was sitting on her desk. Her heart starts to race. Did the purple haired boy do something to her books? She cautiously creeps into the classroom. Her eyes sweep over the room once more to make sure that she was truly alone. Her breath escapes her lungs, though she isn't sure how long she had been holding it. She quickly bolts over to her desk and reaches out grabbing her bag. It makes a strange noise after only a little movement, prompting Mai to release the bag. It falls back onto the top of her desk. She stares at it, completely unsure if she wanted to investigate what had made the squeaking noise.

Her bag moves a little once more. She jerks away from it. The sound is muffled, so she can't quite identify what it is. Her heart starts to pound. It looked like he had done something to her bag after all. She could only pray that it wasn't a rat or something. She takes a deep breath and forces herself to step close to her bag once more. She swallows hard and reaches out grabbing the side of her bag. Whatever it was, she had to get it out of her book bag. Her hands were shaking, and she felt like she was sweating. There was a small lump moving around in her bag with what appeared to be jerky movements. She wanted to close her eyes and pretend that this was nothing more than a silly nightmare, but she didn't dare. The last thing she needed was a rat popping out and biting her hand.

She decided that this was the final straw. She'd see what was put inside her bag, and then she would go to principal and her parents. It didn't matter to her if she had hard evidence or not. She didn't think she could handle this anymore. She holds her breath and jerks the zipper back. She doesn't get any sort of warning. Instead, a small, black, furry creature rushes at her face. She releases an unintentional scream and jumps away, violently swinging in front of her face. She fully expects to hit the wall, only she finds herself hitting something much different. Two arms loosely wrap around her ribcage from behind. She lets out yet another startled cry and pulls herself away. She scrambles away from the person and spins to face them once she is at the back of the room. Her hand was in her pocket gripping the pepper spray. Laito was standing there, only he had leaned back against the wall with his arms folded. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see something moving around near the window. Her stomach twists with disgust, and she moves her gaze from Laito to see what it was. There had been a bat in her bag. A shudder runs down her spine and she drops her gaze to lock with amused green ones. Laito carefully fixes his clothes with a 'tsk'ing sound. "That wasn't very nice. You stepped on me, so I was forced to grab you to stop you from tipping over."

Mai just narrows her eyes at him. She hadn't heard him even enter, and she knew he hadn't been in the room when she had entered. She grips the can tighter. She tries to make her voice sound as authoritative as possible. "You don't belong in this class. What are you even doing here?"

He looks up from straightening his clothes with a flirtatious smile. "I was just checking up on you."

She settles her best glare on him, though the bat flying around the room was making it hard not to duck away. She could feel herself shaking every time it came even remotely close to her. "What is wrong with you? I know that you're the one that has been tormenting me!"

He gives her a fake look of shock, followed by an almost convincing hurt look. He takes a step toward her, causing her body to tense. His voice sounded hurt as well. "Oh, you seem to have the wrong impression of me. I was only looking out for you. You are just so stupidly stubborn with Little Bitch. It seems like you are intent on having her as a friend, so I was worried about you. After all, I truly do love you."

Mai presses herself against the rear wall. Why had she retreated this way? The door was on the opposite side of the room. She might be able to bolt between the rows of desks, but she still stood a chance of getting caught. The last thing she wanted was him behind her again. She wouldn't be able to effectively use her newly found weapons. She keeps her eyes locked on him and tries to slowly inch her way toward the middle row of desks. "You don't even know me. How can you say you love me?"

He lets out a strange, lustful chuckle. The sound sets off every warning bell in her head. She had to get away from him as soon as possible. She didn't want to let him know that she had pepper spray,since she wasn't sure if he'd be able to defend himself. It'd be better to surprise him anyway. He lays his hand on a desk beside him and seems to stroke it gently. "I knew that you had done something to Kanato yesterday, since he came home in a such huff. He was carrying your bag, which I so kindly convinced him to hand over to me. You know it might not be best to play with him. He has quite the temper."

His green eyes move from the desk back up to Mai. She felt a creepy feeling wash over her. She had to get out of there as quickly as possible. He smiles once more, only this time it seemed colder than before. He takes a step toward her and holds out a hand. "Let's go find something much more fun to do. After all, you owe me now. I know the perfect place where you can repay your debt. We'd be alone, and we could get to know each other better."

"Go screw yourself!" Mai snaps. Instead of listening to her common sense, she bolts for the door, heading for the middle row. He seems to appear before her with a look of pure pleasure on his face. Her heart stops completely. She was forced to halt. Unfortunately, it was within his reach. His hand lifts to grab her, and she does the first thing that comes to mind. She jerks the pepper spray out of her pocket and immediately sprays it in his face. She doesn't miss a beat with aiming a kick between his legs to drop him while he's distracted by the burning of his eyes. Oddly, he doesn't make a sound as he goes down. She didn't plan to go over the top of him. That was like asking for him to reach out and drag her down with him. Instead, she climbs over the desk to the next row and bolts for the door once more. She manages to make it out into the hallway, but she could swear she heard him say. "Stupid cunt."

Her heart beat is ringing in her ears as she quickly makes her way to the principal's office. She kept glancing over her shoulder to see if the redhead was chasing her. From the look of things, he hadn't. By some stroke of luck, she makes it unharmed to the principal's office. She doesn't bother with waiting to be called in. Instead, she barrels into his office and immediately starts to talk. She found herself panting and running her words together. The principal simply stares at her in shock for a few moments, before he finally gets her to calm down. She tries to start at the beginning, but she finds herself skipping around. Finally, the principal lets out a sigh and rubs his forehead. He excuses her back to class. He makes sure to give her a note to excuse her from being tardy.

The hallways were completely empty on her way back. She found herself jumping at every sound before she convinces herself that she was being stupid and paranoid. Yui had scared her before, and she was over exaggerating things in her own mind. She quickly returns to her class, gives the teacher the note and hurries to her seat with her head down. She could feel someone glaring at her. Once she is settled in her seat, she glances around to see who it was. Her eyes stop on Yui, who gives her a reassuring smile. She tries to return it, but she finds it hard to do so. Instead, she turns her attention back to her book bag. The last thing she wanted to do was open it. She feels a little squeamish about doing it, but she finally works up the courage to open it. Everything looked like it was in place inside. She finally breathes a sigh of relief and pulls everything out. All of her books looked like they were ok. Her body tenses when she realizes that all of her homework was done. Her hands were starting to shake, and she tried to hide it by gripping the edge of the desk. Had Laito gone through her things? Had he done her homework? If so, he'd use this as an excuse to blackmail her.

She pushes the disturbing thought from her mind. There was no way that he was going to drag her down. She was determined to not let that ever happen. She settles in to pay attention to what the teacher was saying. She should have told the principal sooner. It wouldn't have escalated to this level. She shakes her head a little and forces herself to listen to the teacher drone on about the current subject he was teaching, which happened to be math.

The glaring feeling finally seems to disappear. Her eyes drift back to Kanato, who was clearly not paying attention to what the teacher was saying. His purple eyes were focused on the teddy bear that was sitting on his desk. She turns her attention to the front once more. The last thing she needed was detention for not paying attention to the teacher. She didn't want to be alone in the school with Laito and Kanato lurking around.

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"Mai?" Yui asks after the class had ended. Mai glances up from shoving her books back in her bag. She was determined to make this day somewhat normal after the terrible morning. Yui gives her a sheepish look and says. "Do you still want to eat lunch with me?"

Mai freezes mid shoving a book into her bag. She gives Yui a strange look. "Why wouldn't I want to?"

Yui looks down as she nervously fiddles with her fingers. "Well, I know that they have been tormenting you. It's all my fault, so I was just wondering if you were ok still being around me."

Mai rolls her eyes, shoves the last book in and shoulders her bag. "It's not your fault that you apparently live with assholes. Come on. We better hurry before the rich kids eat all the good food."

Mai gives Yui a smile, who looked immensely relieved. Mai leads the way out the door. Unfortunately, they didn't make it very far down the hallway before a hand jerks Yui to a stop. Yui lets out a startled noise. Mai spins to see who was bothering the two of them now. Ayato was standing there with a grin on his face. He was clearly enjoying the look of terror on Yui's face. She had her eyes closed and was cowering down slightly. Mai opens her mouth to argue, but she finds Ayato's hand on her chest. He gives her a violent shove, causing her to reel backwards. She barely manages to maintain her balance. Her eyes had moved to watch her feet, so when she looks up, she's startled to see that Yui and Ayato are nowhere in sight. Mai's eyes frantically search the hallway for signs of her friend. Had they disappeared into one of the classrooms? She starts down the hallway intent on finding her friend, but she finds a rush of upperclassmen coming from their classes, which seemed to have let them out late. She finally gives up the search and walks toward the cafeteria alone. It bothered her that she hadn't seen Yui fighting against Ayato. Why wouldn't she fight? Another thing that bothered her was the fact that she could swear that she had only looked down for less than a minute. How had they disappeared in such a short amount of time?

She shudders at the thoughts running through her head she enters the cafeteria. She desperately hoped that Yui was going to be ok. Something weird was going on. Laito had moved so quickly. She knew he was two rows over, but he had seemed to appear before her. Now, Ayato and Yui had simply vanished into thin air. Mai shakes her head. Yui had been hysterical before. There was no such things as vampires. There had to be an actual explanation as to how everything had happened. She wasn't about to believe that vampires were real. She grabs what food she can, since she was jammed between two male upperclassmen. It seemed like they had been grabbing everything in sight. She makes her way over to her usual spot and sits down. It looked like she was just going to have to wait for Yui to show up.

Lunch had never felt so lonely before.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you guys enjoy! (:

Mai grudgingly makes her way toward the cafeteria alone. She had decided that carrying her book bag was getting to be too much, so she was heading to there from her locker. She releases a soft sigh. She wasn't really hungry, but she hadn't been eating lately, and it had worried her mother. It still didn't change the fact that she didn't have much of an appetite though. She just felt like something was definitely wrong. Nothing bad had happened to her for almost a week! Yui naively seemed happy about that fact, but Mai wasn't. It wasn't that she was ungrateful for not having cruel pranks pulled on her, but everything around her just felt…. off. Every day for lunch, Ayato had appeared and stolen Yui away before the two could even make it halfway to the cafeteria. It frustrated Mai to no end that Yui never once fought back against him. Anytime that Mai tried to protest in her place, Ayato would simply cast an arrogant look her way and shove her. One day, she had tried to follow the two, but she had lost them somehow. She unconsciously shudders at the memory. They had seemed to disappear into thin air,

The principal had called her mother and spoke to her about what Mai had told him, so she ended up telling her parents everything. They had been so upset that she hadn't confined in them sooner. What upset them even more was the fact that the principal wasn't going to do anything about it. He had said there wasn't enough proof. It was basically Mai's word against Laito's. The completely unfair truth was that Laito's word seemed to carry much more weight than hers, since his father provided over half the school's funding. Her father offered to have her removed from the school, but Mai declined. The school's name carried a lot of weight, and she figured it would be easier to get into a good college if she graduated from that high school. She reassured her parents that she could deal with a little harassment. After all, she was already a couple months into her junior year. Much to her surprise, her alarm clock had been returned to her room the day after the principal talked to her parents. She tried to relax, but she found it impossible to do so. This was like the calm before the storm.

Mai reluctantly turns into the cafeteria. She had promised her mother that she would try to eat something today. She didn't have an appetite, but she figured there wasn't much harm in trying. Everything seemed to be going as usual; she even sat in her usual spot. Today, she elected for some simple fruit, water, and a small assortment of cookies. She slowly nibbles on one of the cookies and gazes silently at her plate. A chair beside her moves, and she looks up full of hope that it was Yui. Her heart stops when her brown eyes lock with vivid green ones. She attempts to stand up, but his arm falls over her shoulders. With surprising strength, Laito drags her back into her chair. She considers thrashing or even punching him, but she decides against it. She didn't want to cause a scene when the other students were already talking about her. The last thing she needed was them fully teasing her for being paranoid. She grips the edge of her tray tightly, refusing to look up from it. She still had the pepper spray in her pocket. She considers reaching for it, but she decides to wait and see what he wanted. He knew she had it, so she couldn't just have her hand in her pocket. He'd see it coming a mile away. Besides, the last thing she needed was getting suspended again. She'd never finish school at that rate.

She could feel cold fingers lightly brushing the back of her hand, and she involuntarily flinches. Her gaze snaps up to lock onto curious, purple eyes directly across the table from her. A chill runs down her spine. She silently watches as Kanato starts to eat one of her cookies. Realizing what she was doing, she drops her gaze back to her tray. The edges dig into her palms, though she is careful not to grip so hard that it's painful. She finally releases one hand. She uses it to reach up to brush Laito's arm off of her shoulder. Unfortunately, he seems to have other things in mind. His arm falls to her waist, and he scoots himself closer to her. In fact, he is so close that his leg brushes lightly against hers. Mai attempts to lean away from him. Her grip tightens on her tray even more, causing a slight sting in her palms. For a brief moment, she considers hitting Laito in the face with it.

"Can I help either of you?" She was trying to sound polite; she really was, but she knew it came out with a rude undertone. She looks from Laito to Kanato just in time to see him stealing another cookie. "Can you please not do that? I bought the food. If you are hungry, get your own."

"Are you offering yourself?" Laito mutters with a sultry tone directly into her ear. Mai flinches away. She reaches out with one and pushes on his chest. Hitting him in the face with the tray was starting to look better and better by the minute.

"There are boundaries, you know. I'd appreciate it if you respected mine. They just happen to be the size of this cafeteria, so if you could please leave the room."

"There are others in here though. So that request isn't exactly valid." Kanato points out, while he steals yet another cookie. She abruptly leans forward to cover her food with her body. She levels a glare at Kanato. She's startled to see him return it with a smile. Laito leans in close to her to her again. His chest lightly brushes her arm. Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. Without a second thought, she elbows him hard in the stomach. His breath rushes out, and Kanato begins to laugh. Mai uses this chance to shove Laito away from herself and scoops her tray up. The remaining cookies on her tray are snatched away by Kanato before she is able to fully stand up. She rolls her eyes, turns on her heel and proceeds leave after emptying her tray. She didn't plan to stick around with the two creepy boys if she had a choice.

She pauses on her way out. Maybe she should stay where people could see her? She nervously glances back to see Laito and Kanato still sitting at the table. Laito was watching her with a calculating looking, while the purple haired boy seemed to be talking to his teddy bear. Laito gives her a flirtatious wink. A shiver races down her spine, and she hurries out. There was no way she could stay in the room with Laito much longer. She had her pepper spray and pocket knife if he approached her again.

Luckily, she bumps into Yui just outside the doors. Relief floods through her body until she realizes that Yui isn't alone. Ayato seems to be glaring down at Mai. She returns the favor then grabs Yui's arm and starts to drag Yui down the hallway. She faintly hears Ayato scoff, but she didn't care. Mai growls softly under her breath and says. "I can't believe the nerve of those… those boys. They think they can get whatever they want by being pushy."

She glances over her shoulder to look at looked pale and incredibly tired which causes Mai to stop. Concern coats Mai's stomach. Yui stumbles a little, and Mai reaches out to grab her shoulders. Had she been stumbling behind Mai the whole time, and Mai was just too frustrated to notice? Guilt builds on top of the concern. "Hey, are you ok?"

Mai's face flushes a little when she takes in the state of Yui's clothes. They were all ruffled, like they had been hastily put back on. In fact, Mai was sure that her undershirt was misbuttoned near the collar. Mai doesn't mean to, but she jerks her hands away as her imagination runs wild. Her face flushes an even deeper red, and she tries to push the images of Yui and Ayato out of her mind. "I… I didn't… I mean… Umm…. Ah…."

She has never felt so stupid in her life. She takes a step back, completely unsure of what to say. Yui blinks innocently at her, clearly trying to figure out what Mai was trying to imply. She still didn't seem to catch on, which seemed strange to Mai. Mai looks away and rubs the back of her head. She drops her gaze to stare down at her feet and mutters. "I don't think it's a wise idea to do that with… ahem…. With Ayato during school hours. If you get caught, you'll be suspended."

"Do what?" Yui asks. Her voice sounded faintly hoarse, which just served to embarrass Mai even more. She forces herself to look up at Yui.

She shifts a little and clears her throat. It was clear that Yui wasn't catching on, so Mai says in a strained voice. "You know….. that."

Yui gives her yet another innocent look. "What?"

Mai feels her humiliation building. Was Yui really that dense? "You know. What a boy and a girl do when they supposedly… are in…..love….."

Yui looked like she was starting to space out again. Mai shakes her head. "You know what? Nevermind. I shouldn't be lecturing you like some sort of adult."

Yui moves to the wall and leans against it. Mai stares at her. Was she on some sort of drug? She was acting weirdly lethargic. Mai cautiously approaches and reached out to touch Yui's shoulder. Yui jumps which makes Mai jump.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you! Hey, are you ok?"

Yui tiredly nods. She visibly swallows and says. "I'm just tired. Ayato took a little too much blood this time."

Mai can only stare at her friend in disbelief. She releases a sigh and shakes her head. She couldn't believe Yui was talking like that again. "There is no such thing as a vampire, Yui. Ayato might be weird, but he is just human. You're tired. Come on, I'll take you to the nurse's office so you can sleep. Are you hungry? I can bring you some food or something."

Yui leans against Mai, but she shakes her head. Her voice was so low that Mai could barely hear it. "No, I'm not hungry."

The two girls slowly make their way toward the nurse's office. Mai helps her into one of the beds and leaves to find the nurse. Unfortunately, she can't find her in the room or even nearby, so Mai returns to find Yui asleep. Her heart sinks a little. She watches her friend for a moment, then she quietly turns to leave. She bumps into an upperclassmen on her way out. He was a pretty blonde boy with beautiful blue eyes. Mai apologizes and steps out of his way, trying not to stare. He makes a soft noise of acknowledgement and moves further into the nurse's office. That's when Mai notices earbuds in his ears. She sighs softly. He probably hadn't even heard her apology. She decides to not give it much thought, turns and hurries out of the room without looking back. She'd run to her locker and grab the stuff she needed for her next class, then she would go to her class and work on homework.

She reaches into her pocket for her phone. She wanted to know how much time she still had left for lunch break. Her heart skips several beats in a row when she doesn't feel it right away, and she starts to panic the longer it takes to find it. She pats her pockets to find that her pocket knife was missing too. The only thing she had was her pepper spray. She searches through her pockets several more times before she rushes toward her locker. Maybe she had slipped them both into her book bag without thinking about it.

She up-ends her bag and proceeds to search through everything. She desperately looks through all the pockets on her book bag twice before she feels tears welling up in her eyes. Her heart was beating so hard that she found it hard to breath. It hadn't seemed like such a big deal when she had left it in her book bag and thrown it at Kanato, but the phone felt like a lifeline now. She angrily wipes her tears away. Nothing would come from her crying. She just needed to retrace her steps and see if it had fallen out of her pocket. She quickly puts her things back into her bag and rushes toward the lunch room. It must have fallen out when she was confronted by Laito. She knew she had it when she had headed toward the lunch room.

She searches around her seat, but she doesn't find it. Her heart sinks to the pit of her stomach. Where could it have gone? Had someone picked it up? A sudden thought occurs to her. She closes her eyes and lets out a loud groaning noise. Thankfully, the only people in the cafeteria was the kitchen staff. Still, she felt embarrassed when she opened her eyes to find them giving her strange looks. She ducks her head and rushes out. She could feel raw fury building up, leaving her stomach feeling like it was on fire. She wanted nothing more than to punch that stupid redhead in the face. His hand had been around her waist. He must have taken it. She should have elbowed him sooner If she had, she wouldn't be missing her phone or pocket knife.

She would just have to look for him after school. The warning bell had rung a few minutes ago, and she still had to go up a flight of stairs and across the school to get to her class. She had just started up the stairs when she heard a whistle from behind her. She freezes midway up. Her anger was still at boiling point, so she spins around snapping. "What?!"

Her body freezes, and her eyes widen. Standing at the bottom of the stairs was the very redhead she was planning to look for later. In his outstretched hand was her phone. She clenches her fists tightly and starts down the stairs, trying to seem as intimidating as possible. Through gritted teeth, she says. "Thief! That belongs to me! What right do you have to take my things?! Give it back! My pocket knife, too!"

She didn't care that her voice echoed through the hallway. She reaches out to snatch the phone away, but, like she assumed he would, he childishly pulls it away. He backs up a few steps, an amused grin on his face. "Ah, ah. Is that how you ask for things?"

"Go to hell!" Mai snaps back at him. She steps off the stairs. She didn't care that she was shorter than him by a few inches. She'd punch him in the gut if she had to. In fact, she'd be happy to punch him in the stomach. "Give me back my stuff!"

He lets out a soft chuckle. The sound sends a chill down her spine, but it isn't enough to cool the anger that she is feeling. He's got a teasing tone to his voice. "That's not how you ask someone for a favor, you know. Come on. Ask properly."

"I don't care what you think! You stole from me, so I'm not asking for a favor! I'm demanding that you return my stuff to me!" Mai lunges for it, but Laito simply lifts it over his head. She immediately backs up a few steps and levels a cold glare on him. She practically snarls. "Give it back to me, asshole."

He tilts his head just a little with a thoughtful look on his face. "Has our relationship already progressed to the point of nicknames? Yay! I'll have to think of yours."

Mai simply stares at him for a few seconds. She wanted to close her eyes in frustration, but she didn't dare take them off of him. "We don't have any sort of relationship!"

He gives her a clearly fake look of hurt. Mai rolls her eyes a little. Laito leans closer to her and says with a lustful tone. "Come on, sweetheart. You can reach it, can't you?"

Mai takes a step away from him. Her eyes flick up to her phone and back down to his smirking face. She shakes her head. "Don't call me that. I'm not your sweetheart. There is no way I am getting closer to you than necessary."

He frowns at her and makes a soft noise of disappointment in the back of his throat. The look of feigned disappointment is swept away with yet another playfully flirtatious grin. He shoves her phone toward her face, but, the second she reaches for it, he snatches it away. "How about we make a deal?"

"No," Mai says bluntly. She was getting more and more frustrated at this point. She wanted to get her phone back, but it was starting to look like it wasn't going to happen. He was going to ask her to something outrageous, and there was no way she would agree to terms her bully had set. She considers turning and just going to class.

He continues as if he didn't hear her. "Come to my house after school, and I'll give it to you."

Mai finds herself staring at him. She couldn't believe he would ask her that! Against her better judgement, she turns on her heel and starts up the stairs. "Keep it."

"Ah, you're giving me a present as a sign of your love? That is so sweet!" Mai pauses and casts a frustrated look over her shoulder. She shakes her head and turns to continue up the stairs. It's silent for a few minutes. It was almost like he was waiting for her to say something, but she had already wasted enough time on him for today. Besides, there was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction of getting any sort of spoken response from her. She was likely going to get written up for being so late, but she found she didn't care at the moment. She hears him call up the stairs in a playful tone. "You look so cute when you are desperate, but you're very cute when you are mad. I wonder how you'll look when you're completely scared."

She freezes just as she is about to turn the corner to head up the second half of the stairs. She looks back down at him. Disgust fills her entire body, and she has to resist making a rude gesture in his direction. There were so many things she wanted to say to him, but the first thing she could think of was. "Why are you doing this to me?"

He tilts his head and slides her phone into one of his pants pockets. "Because you are friends with the Little Bitch."

Mai rolls her eyes and continues up the stairs. Despite wanting to punch him, she wanted to get away from him more. She'd figure out how to get her phone back somehow. If she couldn't, she'd just tell her parents that it had been stolen.

She spent the two days completely avoiding Laito, though he seemed to think of it as some sort of game. He would appear randomly, and it was starting to really scare her. It seemed like it wasn't just limited to school. What was even worse was the fact that Kanato had moved to sit directly behind her in homeroom. The teacher didn't seem to really care what Kanato did. She could swear that she felt cold finger brushing the back of her neck and lightly pulling on her hair every so often. She hadn't had a chance to talk to her parents about her missing phone, since they hadn't been home the same times she had been.

Her alarm clock had turned up missing again. She knew that she had locked all the windows and doors in the house this time. It had sent chills down her spine. She glances toward Yui, who looked like she was about to fall asleep. Laito had told her that all of her torment had came from being friends with her. Mai had been seriously thinking over those words the last few days, and it only made her concern grow. Laito obviously lived with Yui, so it made Mai wonder if he tormented the blonde at home.

Her brown eyes shift to look at the dozing form of Ayato. She hadn't really talked to him much, but she found him to be a rude inconsiderate person. Her eyes drift back down to Yui. She would make her move tonight. She had planned it all out in her head over the last few days They would sneak away from school during lunch break and go straight to the police. She was sure her phone could be traced back to Laito. It'd at least get him in trouble for stealing. Maybe the police would be able to find something to get Yui out of the house. She was seventeen, after all.

Something was bothering Mai though. What if Yui didn't want to do it? What if she backed out last minute? Mai tried to be confident that Yui would go along with her, but she had a feeling that convincing Yui to turn them in would be harder than it should to be. She barely keeps herself from flinching when cold fingers brush the back of her neck. She didn't want to bring attention to herself, but she was on the verge of turning around and yelling at Kanato. Thankfully, class ends only moments later. Mai turns her attention to Yui. She reaches out and grabs onto Yui's arm, startling her. Mai tries to give her a reassuring smile, but comes off as more of a grimace. Mai clears her throat and stands up to lean toward Yui. She mutters softly. "Let's skip the rest of school."

Yui starts to shake her head. "I can't."

Mai rolls her eyes and tries to force a smile on her face. She didn't want to blurt out the reason while there were still stragglers in the room. Mai says softly, "Oh, come on. You rarely ever miss school!"

Mai glances around at the students around her. She felt some relief to see both Ayato and Kanato gone. She turns a smile back on Yui. "I actually left something at home, but I'm a little afraid to return home alone to get it. I mean, I'm only a young girl, and it's so late at night. It's better to move in a crowd, you know."

Yui stares at Mai silently for a moment. Mai silently hoped that her friend would finally catch on. It comes as an enormous relief when she starts to nod. Mai feels a sense of triumph run through her body. The next obstacle would come when they left school, and Mai told her the real reason for skipping school.

"I can escort you home"

The soft voice causes Mai to jump. It felt like her heart was it's only a few beats from exploding when her eyes lock with purple ones. Kanato pulls his teddy bear a little tighter. Mai quickly shakes her head. The last thing she wanted to do was isolate the two of them with Kanato. She hadn't talked to him as much as she had Laito, but she found him to be just as creepy. Mai looks to Yui for help, but Yui was staring intently at her desk. Concern fills her chest at the troubled look on her friend's face. Kanato appears between the two of them, partially blocking Mai's view of Yui. His back was to Yui, while he was facing Mai. She takes a step back and shoulders her book bag.

"I asked Yui. I don't think my parents will like me bringing a boy so late at night. They are kind of strict."

Yui glances at Mai with a look of terror on her face. The sight sends a jolt of fear through Mai. Her eyes flick back and forth between the two. They stop on Kanato when he lifts the bear even higher. His face buries in the back of it's head. Her heart starts to pound, and confusion fills her chest. He moves his head just enough that she could see his eyes, and she watches tears well up in Kanato's eyes.

"I haven't done anything to you, but you hate me." Mai is completely stunned by this new behavior. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to react. She looked up at Yui, who looked just as stunned. There was no way that Mai was going to tell him that she'd let him walk with them just because he looked like he was about to cry. She still didn't trust him, and this sudden shift in behavior had every warning bell in her head ringing violently. Something was very off with the boy in front of her, and she didn't want any part of it. He lets out a soft crying noise. "You don't deny it! Why do you hate me?!"

Panic spreads throughout Mai's body. She tries to piece her thoughts together as quickly as possible so she can answer him. She blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. "I don't…. Well, I mean you did hit me, but that's not why I said that I didn't want you to go home with me. It's just that I don't really know you, and… well… you know what? Forget it! I'll just get it after school."

Mai quickly starts for the door, but Kanato moves much faster than she expected. He reaches over the desk and grabs her arm in a vice like grip. Mai quickly shakes her whole arm to try to dislodge him. His strength startled her. "Hey! Please don't touch me!"

She had no idea why she was suddenly being so polite. He still had lingering tears in her eyes. What kind of teenager cried so easily? She couldn't help but wonder just how mentally sound the boy was. Her brown eyes lock with his. He jerks her toward him. She slams a hand down on her desk to prevent from falling into it. She tries to lean away from him, so she was hovering over her desk awkwardly. He tilts his head a little. He seemed to be inspecting her. It sent a chill down her spine. All trace of his tears were gone. He had the same predatory look on his face that she had seen months ago when Yui first showed up. His voice is soft and much more watery than she expected it to be. "Can I go to lunch with you?"

Mai immediately starts to shake her head. This boy had her completely off guard, but she was still trying to think things rationally. She had thought he was just incondeiate, cookie stealing brat. She had no idea what to think of him now. She just knew that there was no way in hell he was stable at all. He frowns and more tears well up. His voice is getting softer the more he talks. "How am I supposed to apologize for hurting you if you won't let me be near you?"

"I don't need an apology! Just let me go." Mai jerks hard on her arm. A cruel smile spreads over his face; once more sending a jolt of fear through her body. He releases her just as she had pulled back a second time. She should have see it coming, but she was so off her game with his behavior that she reels backward. Thankfully, she just hits the wall. It sends a jolt of pain that helps to clear her mind. They had to get away from the purple haired boy. His face had changed into one of cold amusement. He was even chuckling under his breath. There was no sign of the earlier tears. Mai found herself thinking that maybe Laito would be easier to deal with, at least she had some idea on what to expect with him. She quickly takes that back. Laito was just downright creepy. Kanato straightens himself. "I'm hungry. Teddy and I want some cake."

Mai feels like her head is spinning. She sends a desperate look in Yui's direction, but the blonde won't even look at Mai. Kanato glances toward Yui and lets out a chuckle. "This air-headed woman won't help you. She belongs to Ayato, and he's already taught her to not interfere where she isn't wanted. She does exactly what is expected of her. She's already a broken doll."

Disgust fills Mai's chest, and she finds herself glaring at Kanato, though it clearly doesn't faze the boy. He had no right to say that about another person, especially not her friend. She doesn't get a chance to say anything. "Sweetheart, you don't know how to play games very well, do you?"

Kanato's face morphs into one of irritation. Mai flinches away from the voice. He had somehow snuck up beside her. She was still desperately clinging to the belief that how he kept appearing could be explained, but she was starting to doubt her own sanity. Kanato mutters softly, "You are being rude, Laito."

Laito turns his attention on his brother, which gives Mai a chance to slip around and stand beside Yui. She reaches out to lightly push Yui, which draws her crimson eyes onto Mai. Mai uses her head to gesture to the door. Yui nods once, and they begin to silently creep toward the door.

"Now, now, Kanato. You know it's nice to share, right? I certainly don't mind!" Laito sounded much too cheerful.

Kanato releases a very surprising growl. "I don't want to share with you. You are disgusting. I have no idea where you have been!"

Laito lets out a chuckle, clearly not taking offense. "You are starting to sound like Reiji, Kanato!"

That clearly upsets the purple haired boy. He slams his foot down like a toddler. He loudly screams. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I saw her first! She is in my class! She belongs to me! Keep your filthy hands to yourself!"

Mai had a sick feeling they were talking about her. Mai just wanted to be out of the room. A shiver runs down her spine when she hears Laito's voice go from being cheerful to incredibly cold.

"Being in her class does not count her as one of yours, you hysterical, little brat."

The two girls manage to slip out while Laito and Kanato continued to argue. It came as a huge relief. In fact, Mai releases a sigh of relief. Mai makes the mistake of looking back at the classroom just to make sure that they weren't being followed.

"Mai!" That was the only warning she received. She turned just in time to run her face into a chest. The skin she felt on her face was incredibly cold, and it prompt her leap backwards. Yui had already backed away, so Mai didn't end up running into her. Horror fills her chest when she looks up into furious, vivid green eyes. Thankfully, he doesn't pay Mai much thought. Instead, his eyes shift to look at Yui. Mai glances at her friend, who had coward down.

"What have I told you about spending time with my brothers?!" His voice was much more forceful that Mai thought it would be. It made her want to cower down, but she also wanted to help her friend. She tries to step between Ayato and Yui. She flinches when his furious gaze lands on her.

"She wasn't spending time with them! They crept up on us!" Mai quickly states. Her words seem to fall on deaf ears though. Ayato had started toward Mai and Yui, though he seemed to not have a single interest in Mai. Uncertainty fills Mai's chest. She knew she should run, but she didn't plan to leave Yui behind. Mai attempts to step in his path, bu Ayato shoves her aside, just like he always does. His shove is much more forceful than it usually is, so it causes her to lose her balance. She lands on her butt, hissing in pain. His hand grabs Yui's upper arm, and he proceeds to drag her down the hallway. Mai flinches when she climbs to her feet. Pain races up her spine. She was sure that she had a bruise forming on her butt from that fall. Her eyes scan the hallway, but she didn't see any sign of Yui or Ayato. Worry fills her chest. Ayato had looked so livid, but Mai couldn't figure out why. Did it have to do with his brothers? She remembered him mentioning them.

She glances back at the classroom and decides to hurry down the hallway away from the class. She didn't want to face Laito or Kanato at the moment. Every step was sending pain up her spine. She turns to disappear into a bathroom. Hopefully, neither one would follow her in there. She leans back against the wall close to the door and releases a slow breath. The cool wall felt good against her sore butt. She slowly slides to the floor and just closes her eyes. Yui never talked to anyone but Mai. Was it because of Ayato? Mai had a feeling it was. She takes a few deep breaths and releases them.

Before she knows it, her lunch hour had passed. She's on her way to her next class when she realizes there is something in her pocket. She steps to the side of the hallway and pulls out her phone. Her heart skips a beat as suspicion fills her stomach. She had always thought of herself as observant but twice now Laito had snuck stuff into and out of her pockets. She shudders and shoves the phone back into her pocket. She would check it out later. After all, he had probably done something to it while it was in his possession the last few days. For now, she'd just try to focus on classes. Her plan had failed miserably, but that didn't mean that she was going to give up. Something had to be done about the snobby rich kids.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you guys enjoy (:

She fiddles with her phone as she exits the school. Her mind is so preoccupied that she jumps when she feels someone touch her shoulder. She quickly steps away and turns to glare at the offending person, fully expecting it to be Laito or Kanato. Startled crimson eyes meet her cold glare. Mai releases a breath and lets out a sigh. She quickly forces a smile onto her face. "Sorry, Yui. I thought you were someone else."

Yui flinches but nods. An awkward silence settles between them for a few minutes. Just as Mai opens her mouth to ask Yui what she was planning on doing since school had ended, Yui blurts out. "I got to go buy some stuff for one of my classes. Do you want to go with me?"

Mai's mouth snaps shut. She stares at her friend, who was shifting her weight back and forth nervously. It was still dark out, but some shops should be opening soon. There were also twenty four hour convenience stores that they could get a lot of school materials from if they really needed to. Mai considers turning her down, cause she was tired and still had to check out her phone, but she hesitates upon seeing the nervous look on Yui's face. Mai takes a deep breath and lets it out as a sigh. Yui must be afraid to walk alone at night by herself. Mai could understand that. She finally nods. Yui thanks her several times and gives her a quick hug. She hurries down the rest of the stairs. Mai lets out a soft groan and follows after her. She shoves her hands into her pockets and proceeds to lightly play with her phone. Looks like she would just have to check it out later.

Yui was much livelier than Mai had seen her. They were currently in one of the few open stores browsing through the school supplies. In fact, Mai was positive that Yui hadn't stopped talking since they had left the school gates. Mai didn't mean to, but she had tuned her friend out. Her tired, brown eyes float over whatever merchandise she slowly passes by them. Her fingers brush her phone once more. She glances at Yui then decides that she might as well look to see if there was any visible damage done to it.

She pulls it from her pocket and makes sure to inspect the outside of it. She didn't hear Yui's voice, so she glances up. Her friend was standing a few feet away with an expectant look on her face.

She had no idea what Yui had said, so she says the first thing that comes to mind. "Yeah."

Yui offers a little smile, which makes Mai flinch. Yui must have caught on that Mai hadn't been listening to her. She didn't seem upset though, which came as a huge relief to Mai. Instead, Yui says, "I was just wondering if you were ok. You're staring pretty intently at your phone."

Mai quickly nods and looks back at her phone. "Remember me telling you that Laito took it from me a couple days ago?"

She sees Yui flinch out of the corner of her eye. Her friend asks softly. "Did you ever report it stolen?"

Mai slips it back into her pocket and shakes her head. "I should have told the principal, but he's already said he can't do anything with evidence. How was I supposed to prove that Laito had my phone? I could accuse him, but that hasn't helped me in the past. My parents weren't around the same time as me, so I wasn't able to tell them either. They've been leaving at five o'clock in the morning and getting back sometime after I'd already left for school. I didn't think it was something that I could leave in a handwritten note, and I had no way of calling them. Then, today, Laito seemed to just…. give it back."

A worried look settles over Yui's face. She turns to grab the stuff she needs and heads toward the register. "Maybe we should look at it together."

Mai smiles a little and follows the petite blonde. "Thanks, Yui. I'd appreciate it."

Yui gives her a nod and steps into line. Mai moves around to wait by the door for Yui to finish. It didn't take long for Yui to rejoin her. They proceed to leave together. Mai's eyes travel around the street until she spots a bench at a bus stop. She points to it, and Yui nods. They both hurry over and settle onto the empty bench. Once more, Mai draws her phone out. She could feel her hands shaking. What if he had used it to take pictures of his….?

She shudders and pushes the thought out of her mind. It was too disturbing to finish. Her face flushes, and her heart starts to race. There would be no way she would keep it if he did something like that. She throw it away instantly and without a second thought. With shaking hands, Mai presses the button to light the face up. To her absolute horror, she sees that her wallpaper had been changed. A snicker grabs her attention. She rounds her gaze on her friend, feeling irritation bubbling just below the surface. Yui presses a hand to her mouth to try and stifle the sound.

"I'm so glad that my misery is amusing to you," Mai growls at her. She glances back at her phone then looks away with a soft irritated sigh. Vivid green eyes were staring up at her from her phone. He had a smug grin on which just served to irritate her more.

"I'm sorry, Mai!" Yui says between giggles. Mai gives her yet another frustrated look. It just causes Yui to laugh harder. "Your face though! You just had this….. This…"

She's not able to finish whatever she was saying, since she erupts into uncontrollable laughter. Mai resists the urge to roll her eyes and shove her friend off the bench. She takes a deep breath to gain her courage and turns her attention back to her phone. She flinches at the new wallpaper and starts to search though it. Her horror starts to mount, when she realizes what he had done.

He had completely wiped her phone. There was no pictures, contacts, or anything really. Even most of her apps were gone. There was only the one picture, which happened to be her background, and a contact named 'Laito'. Mai clenches her phone tightly. She could feel her anger growing. She abruptly stands up, causing Yui to stop laughing. She glances at her friend and says as calmly as she can. "I've got to go home. I'm sorry."

She doesn't wait for Yui to say anything. She just quickly makes her way down the street. She wanted to catch her parents before they left for work. A note on the table last night had said they weren't leaving until almost nine a.m. today. She picks up her pace before finds herself running toward her house. Someone steps out in front of her, causing her to stop. The woman looked like she might be drunk, since she was moving with jerky movements. She was wearing a plain, long, white dress. The weirdest thing was that she was barefoot. She was staring blankly at the ground. An eerie feeling was slowly creeping over Mai. There was something seriously wrong with the woman. Mai takes a couple of steps backward. The woman's head snaps up so fast that it made Mai's neck hurt just thinking about it. Her eyes looked like they were black in color, and her hair was a strange bluish color.

It feels like Mai's heart is grinding to a halt. She fully expects the woman to open her mouth and let out some inhuman roar, but she doesn't. Instead, she just stands there staring intently at Mai. Raw, cold fear makes every muscle in her body feel rigid. The woman takes a stiff step toward Mai. Without a second thought, Mai turns and bolts back the way she had came from. Was she in some sort of horror movie? The only sounds she could hear was the pounding of her heart between her ears, and her footsteps landing heavily on the concrete sidewalk. She silently curses herself for not going straight home.

Yui was jogging in her direction, which does nothing to help Mai's fear. Yui calls out her name and waves to her. Mai didn't want to slow down, but she didn't want the strange woman to harm her friend. She slows to a stop. Her lungs burned with need for oxygen. She reaches out to grab Yui's arm and pulls on her. Yui lets out a startled noise and refuses to move.

"Wait, Mai! What's wrong?"

"There's a woman!" Mai frantically says between gasps of breath. "We have to go! There is something wrong with her! She's like…."

"Mai," Yui says softly. Irritation at the fact that Yui isn't feeling the urgency builds up in Mai's chest. She reaches out grabbing Yui's shoulders and gives her a shake.

"We don't have time! Start running!" Yui slowly shakes her head with wide eyes. Mai growls softly and pulls away from her friend. She didn't want to leave her, but it was looking like Yui wasn't going to listen to reason.

"There's no one there."

Those words are like a punch in the stomach. Mai quickly looks around Yui to find no one there. She quickly turns in a circle, looking for the strange woman. Her heart starts to sink when she doesn't see her. The street has a few people out and about, looking like they were headed to work. The sun was lighting the sky. There was no sign of the white clad woman. Mai feels herself starting to shake. What was happening to her? Was she going crazy?

She jumps and lets out a shrill squeal when Yui touches her shoulder. Yui flinches and pulls away with a look of concern on her face. A cold sweat breaks out over Mai's body. She wraps her arms around her stomach and crouches down. An awkward silence settles between them. Mai didn't care if anyone was staring. She just focuses on breathing in and out to try and get her racing heart to slow down. She forcibly reminds herself that nothing good will come of her losing her cool. Finally, she manages to reign in her fear enough that she can stand without shaking. She gives Yui a sheepish look. She clears her throat and asks softly. "Can you… can you please walk with me to my house?"

Yui slowly nods. Mai wanted to feel relief at having someone with her, but she found it impossible to feel anything other than the remnants of her raw fear. The walk to her house is awkward and stressful. Mai kept glancing behind her, which seemed to be upsetting Yui. They finally arrive at Mai's house. Unfortunately it's after nine, so her parents are already gone.

She enters the house alone. Mai had tried for ten minutes to convince Yui before she finally gave up and let her friend go. Mai jumps when the house creaks freakishly loud. She shakes her head. "No. It's just settling. There is no one in here. The door was locked when I got here."

Still, Mai turns and locks the front door. She proceeds to walk around the house to make sure that everything was locked. She ends up going around twice. Finally, she settles into a kitchen chair. Her phone was sitting on the table a few inches away from her hands. She considers just leaving a note for her parents about what was happening and going to bed, but she didn't want to go back to school that night. It was already so close to the weekend that she was sure one day wouldn't really matter. She reaches out and grabs her phone. She had her mom's cell phone memorized, so she'd call her until she answered. She'd tell her mom about what happened, and she would skip school tomorrow. This way her parents wouldn't be surprised if the school called them, and Mai figured it would be better to talk about this in person.

She flinches as Laito's face smiles up at her. She would have to change that before she called her mom. There was no way that she was going to have his face so close to hers, even if it was just a picture. She quickly deletes the picture and downloads a wallpaper app. She picks the first one, which is just a generic soft blue background. She'd look for something better later. She immediately deletes the contact called Laito and then proceeds to dial her mother's number.

It rings and rings without an answer before going to her mom's voicemail. With a frown, Mai hangs up. She immediately calls agains. She finally gets her other on the third call. Her mother's voice is clearly worried. In fact, she didn't even say hello. "Mai? Did something happen? Are you ok? Do you need me to come home?"

Mai wanted to just break down and cry. She wanted to beg her mom to come home, but she quickly pushes that aside. She didn't call to make her mother rush home just because she was scared. She wasn't a little kid. With a shaky voice, Mai quietly tells her mother about the woman on the street. She continues to tell her mother about the last few days. Silent tears start to stream down her face. Mai's hands were shaking by the end. She ends the story with, "Mom, I don't want to have to go to school tonight. Can I just stay home sick?"

"Of course, you can," her mother coos softly. The reassuring sound calms Mai's nerves. "Do you want me to come home?"

Mai considers it for a minute. Finally, she releases a soft sigh and says, "No. It's daytime. I'm sure that everything will be ok. I'll just go to bed and see you when you get home tonight."

Her mother doesn't say anything for a moment. Finally, her mother's unsure voice echos through the phone. "Are you sure, Mai? It won't be a problem."

A grateful feeling wells up in Mai's chest. She couldn't describe how much she loved and appreciated the fact that her mother and father always believed her. She closes her eyes, feeling incredibly lucky to have them. A small, sad smile spreads over her face. She wishes that she got to spend more time with them. "No, mom. I'll be alright. I love you. Good night."

Her mother's sigh echoes in the phone. She replies with, "I love you, too. Sleep tight. I'll be there when you wake up."

Mai pulls the phone away and hangs up. She sets it on table. She briefly wonders if she should sanitize it, her hands, and her face. After all, she had no idea what Laito could have done with it. She flinches at the obsessive behavior. Yui's insistence on the existence of vampires was making her start to doubt reality. She firmly says. "There are no such thing as a vampire."

She pushes herself up and turns on her heel to head up the stairs to her room. She considers just crawling into bed, but she flinches at the thought. She was sweaty and gross from all the running. She forces herself into the shower. Once she's done scrubbing herself off, she stands there. She found it almost impossible to drag herself out of the shower, but she finally manages to. Dressed in a simple tank top and shorts, she crawls into bed. It doesn't take her long to fall asleep.

She woke up groggy. It was dark outside. She reaches around her pillow to find her phone, but she comes up empty. Her heart skips a beat. She had no idea why she had woken, but she felt like it wasn't just natural for her to wake up. She was still so groggy that she had no idea where she had put her phone.

A loud noise downstairs puts her on high alert. She sits straight up and listens intently for the noise to happen again. Her heart was so loud that she was worried that she wouldn't be able to hear anything. Luckily, she's able to hear it. It sounded almost like it was coming from the front door, as if someone was knocking. She quickly drags herself out of bed. She made sure that she was completely silent, while she makes her way to her closet. Just inside was a bat that she had insisted that she needed for her own protection when she was alone in the house. She was grateful that she had gotten it.

With her weapon in hand, she creeps out of her room. The hallway is dark, but she sticks her back to the wall to keep anyone from creeping up on her and cautiously makes her way to the stairs. She slowly puts her feet on the floor thankful that it's carpeted, since it cushions her footsteps. She jumps when there is another knocking sound. It was definitely coming from the front door. Still, she didn't relax her stance. She makes her way down and into the living room. Just like the rest of her house, it's dark. She creeps to the window and is careful to peek through a crack between two panels. To her immediate relief, she sees that it's Yui.

She hadn't realized just how tense she was until she finally relaxed. She sets the bat on the couch and starts toward the door. Her body freezes at the halfway point. Yui knocks once more. A thought had just occurred to her. Yui lived with Laito and his brothers. What if this was a trap set up by Laito or Kanato?

Mai closes her eyes tightly. It wasn't fair to Yui to think that way. Yui was her friend, and she didn't think that her friend would knowingly harm her. Still, it was better safe than sorry. Mai scoops up the bat and takes it with her to the door. She's glad that the door swings from the left side when facing it. It meant that her right side would be covered, and she could retain her grip on her bat without upsetting her friend. She quickly unlocks it and opens it just a crack. Yui blinks innocently at her. She tilts her head just a little. "Did you just wake up?"

Mai glances down to see that she was still dressed in the tank top and shorts. She looks up and offers a small smile to Yui. "Did you come all the way over to walk to school with me?"

Yui nods. "I left early today so I could walk all the way here. You seemed so upset earlier, so I wanted to make you feel better."

Guilt fills Mai's chest. She had no idea how far away Yui lived. Still, Mai was determined not to go to school. She offers an apologetic smile to her friend. "I'm actually not feeling very good, so I'm not going to school today. I'm sorry."

Concern overtakes Yui's petite features. Mai quickly shakes her head before Yui can ask anything. "Oh, it's nothing serious! Just a stomach ache, so don't worry about it! I'm just… well… I'm just tired is all. I was thinking I would sleep the night away. I'll be all ready to go back to school on Monday."

Yui offers Mai a smile, clearly believing her. It made Mai silently question how Yui could be so trusting. It also made Mai feel incredibly guilty for lying to her. Yui had already said goodbye to her and turned to leave. Mai calls after her. "You can stay here if you like. We can stay up watching movies."

Yui simply shakes her head. "I can't. Sorry."

Mai frowns. Why did she always deny going places other than the store with Mai? Did it have something to do with Ayato? "Yui! Can you bring me my homework after school today?"

Yui pauses at the bottom of the stairs and looks back at Mai. She smiles and nods. Mai waves at her and closes the door. She proceeds to lock it and sets the bat by the door. She wasn't sure she would need it, but it was better to have it where she could reach it than to leave it in a different room. She turns on her heel and flips on every light she passes till every light on the ground level is on. She opens the fridge and considers making herself some homemade food, but she settles on popcorn instead.

She was going to surf Netflix for something to watch. The only light that remains on is the kitchen. She ends up curled up on the couch with a soda pop and some popcorn with a generic zombie movie she had found. It looked like it was going to become a cliche, but she still enjoyed it. She's still watching movies when her parents arrive. She crawls off the couch to greet them. In a flurry, she finds herself sitting at the kitchen table. Her parents are across from her. Her hands are folded on the table in front of her. Identical looks of concern are on her parents faces. The silence had stretched on for around five minutes after everything that Mai had said. Finally, her father says in a stern voice. "You are not going back to that school. If they won't do anything, we will just take you out."

Mai doesn't argue. Instead, she just stares at the table between her hands. Her mother reaches over to pat Mai's arm. Her mother says in a soft voice. "You shouldn't have deleted the stuff out of your phone. We could have used it as evidence."

Mai flinches at her mistake. She mutters an apology, but her father says. "You have nothing to apologize for."

They fall silent once more. Mai observes her parents. Both looked so tired. It was closing in on midnight, so she could understand. Mai takes a deep breath and says. "Dad, would your boss be upset if I did leave?"

Her father levels a stern look in her direction. She inspects the table. "What are you getting at Mai?"

Mai flinches and says, "Well, it's a great place to go to school, and he put forth his own money to let me go there. The year is already underway. Maybe we should give it a little while longer."

"No." Her father says with a stern voice.

"Honey, it's her choice," Mai's mother says softly. He shakes his head and stands up. Her mother gives her a reassuring smile. Her father had already left the room. "Mai, do you understand the meaning of staying there? You might not get much studying in. Have you been able to keep up so far? Just consider that. Another thing that you need to consider is that this problem started when that Yui girl first arrived. Perhaps you could solve all your problems by no longer associating with her."

Mai's thoughts race. She had considered that before, but it was different hearing it said out loud. She feels her mom give her a hug and a kiss on the top of her head before disappearing up the stairs. Mai slowly lowers her head to the table and takes a few breaths. She's not sure how long she sits there considering her possibilities. It'd be wise to let her parents pull her out, but she would have to find and enroll in another high school before she did. She didn't want to look like a drop out. That wouldn't look good on her college applications. She lets out a slow breath.

Her current school was a great place to graduate from. It was a private school that was funded by some rich politician. Perhaps her mom was right. If she wanted to stay, she might have to stop talking to Yui. Guilt fills her stomach. She didn't want to make Yui feel like this was all her fault, but maybe it was for the best.

The image of Yui's frightened face when confronted by Ayato fills Mai's mind. Could she really leave her friend alone when she was so clearly in trouble? Mai slowly pushes herself up. She'd have to think it over. For now, she'd find something else to watch on t.v.

She's vaguely aware of her parents leaving for work. She was still stretched out on the couch, half asleep. The tv was still playing an anime, but she wasn't coherent enough to really figure out which one it was. She hears the front door close and drifts off to sleep again.

She's jerked awake by knocking on the front door. She yawns tiredly and drags herself off the couch. It faintly occurs to her that Yui was late getting her homework to her. She pauses just before unlocking the door. Her body was fully awake now. Maybe she should check to make sure it was really Yui. With a sigh, she creeps back to the living room and peeks out to see that it is indeed Yui. A quick sweep of the yard lets her know that Yui is alone.

Relief fills her body. She quickly makes her way to the door and opens it all the way. "Yui, th-"

Her breath catches in her throat. Her eyes widen. Yui had an apologetic look on her face. Standing directly behind her was a smiling Laito. Without a second thought, Mai starts to shut the door. Laito easily reaches over Yui's shoulder to slam a hand against the door, completely halting it. The sound makes Mai jump and shove her foot behind the door as a type of wedge. She was determined to not let Laito in. He pushes on the door lightly. There is a slight sting in her foot where the door pinches the skin on her foot, but it can easily be ignored.

"Come now, sweetheart. Is that how you treat your friends?" Laito asks in a cooing voice.

"We are not friends," Mai states as clearly as she can. She leans against the door, hoping her weight would deter him. To her surprise, he doesn't even seem fazed by it. In fact, he presses against Yui's back, pushing her against the door. For a heart pounding second, Mai worries that he's going to crush Yui. Mai didn't think she could hold up against a combination of their weight. Laito didn't even seemed fazed by her cold response.

"I was just so worried when I was told you hadn't been in class. I wanted to rush over, but I didn't know where you lived. That's when our dear Little Bitch told me where it was that I could find you!"

"Mai, I didn't tell him where you lived! I promise! He followed me!" Yui breathlessly states. Laito simply chuckles at Yui's words. He leans down and mutters softly in her ear, though it's too low for Mai to hear. Yui's eyes widen in clear fear. Mai's hand reaches around for the bat, trying to be discreet.

"You are not welcome here, Laito. Go away. I invited Yui over!" Mai states, trying to sound as forceful as she can. Her hand finds and grasps the hand of the bat. Yui flinches and gives Mai an apologetic look. A frown falls over Laito's face, which sends a chill down Mai's spine. The only time she had seen him without a smile was when he was arguing with Kanato. Mai doesn't get a warning before the door is violently shoved. Pain races up her foot, and she pulls it away from the door. She lets out a loud whimper as she scrambles further back into her house. Her eyes fall to her foot. The door had scrapped a good deal of skin off of the top of her foot. Blood was bubbling up and already starting to leak over the side. Even a little bit of weight sent jolts of pain up her leg, which made her eyes water.

"Mai! Ru-" Yui calls frantically, but she is cut off by the slamming of the door. Yui proceeds to knock loudly on the door, but she's ignored by the two inside. Mai's eyes widen, and she lifts her gaze up at Laito. He was inside her house! The sound of the lock clicking into place had never felt so terrifying. Mai grips her bat tighter. She had stubbornly refused to release it, despite the pain.

"Get out!" Mai says loudly. Laito's eyes drift closed, and he takes a deep breath. He lets out a shuddering breath. He wraps his arms around himself and rocks back and forth a little. With a soft groan, he opens his eyes. It almost looked like his eyes were glowing a brighter green. She figured it was just her fear playing tricks on her. She grips the bat with both hands and takes a limping step back. Her house didn't have a single landline, and she had stupidly left her phone upstairs. She had believed that she was somewhat safe in her own house, but she was starting to seriously doubt that.

"Now, now, sweetheart. Don't be scared!" He lets out a chuckle, while he stalks toward her with graceful steps. He stops after only a few. Mai scrambles to maintain the distance between them. This seemed to just amuse him. The pain in her foot was making it hard to move, and Mai was worried that maybe it was broken. Her palms were starting to sweat, which made the bat slippery. Why did she have to fall into some cliche, horror chick category? She had looked out the window to be sure it was her friend, and only her friend. She thought she had done everything right. Why was it turning out this way? Disgust fills her as a hungry look fills his seemingly glowing eyes. "On second thought, you can be scared if you'd like. It makes you soooo adorable."

He was practically cooing at her, though his actions, sounds and even his smile was cold. It completely scared Mai. She wanted to call the police, but her phone was up the stairs. Besides, it would take them some time to get there. He takes another step toward her. She adjusts her grip on the bat. He just within her swing, but she didn't want to give him the chance of catching the bat with a wide arc. She'd wait till he was a little closer. She could feel the bottom stair against the back of her lower calf. He takes another step toward her, and she seizes her chance. She swings the bat as hard and fast as she can. With inhuman speed, Laito's hand catches it. Mai doesn't miss a beat, though. She lifts her injured foot and aims a well placed kick at his knee. She feels pain racing up her leg, but her adrenaline helps to numb it. She spins the second he buckles and races up the stairs. He lets out a strange growling noise behind her, which spurs her to move faster. Now was her only chance to get up the stairs and get to her phone. She was sure that she had hyperextended his knee. She'd call the cops and climb out the window if she had to. She'd rather suffer broken bones than whatever this strange boy had in store for her.

It hurts every time she uses the foot to run up the stairs. Her heart soars when she is almost at the top. She hadn't heard a sound behind her, but she didn't plan to look back. It might slow her down. These first few seconds were precious. Just when she thinks she is going to make it, a freezing hand grabs the foot she is putting all of her weight on. That's the only warning she has before her body is pitched forward due to her foot being violently jerked out from under her. She tries to brace herself for the fall.

She lets out a loud cry of pain once she hits. Her forearms had hit the stairs first, but they did nothing to stop her abdomen from hitting as well. The worst part was when her chin had hit the very edge of the very top stair. It jarred her teeth. The stairs were carpeted by very thin layer. There was no padding, so it was like hitting just wooden stairs. Mai twists her body and aims a wild kick at Laito. Her foot connects with his shoulder, but it does nothing to deter him. Instead, he jerks on her foot, painfully dragging her down a few more stairs. Her tank top rolls up her stomach a few inches. She doubles her fist to aim at his face, but he simply catches her wrist with one hand. His other quickly releases her ankle and captures her other wrist. She struggles against him as hard as she can, but he still pins her hands above her head. She tries to knee him in the side, but he was quicker than she thought he would be. He settles for practically sitting on her lower abdomen, so even if she tried to, her knees wouldn't do much damage to his back. She lets out a groan. The pain in her body seems to be rapidly beating alongside her heart. Her body tenses up when she feels cold skin brushing along her jawline. To her horror, she finds his face much closer to hers than she was comfortable with. His nose was lightly touching her skin, and he was taking a deep breath. She lifts her head to try to headbutt him, but he pulls away before she can.

She had never been as scared as she was then. She jerks her hips up to try to buck him off, but it just elects a cold, cruel sounding laugh from him. He stares down at her with a smug look on his face. "You just don't know when to quit, do you?"

"Get off me!" Mai yells as loud as she can. Yui had stopped pounding on the door at some point. Mai could only hope that she had ran to get help. She tries once again to throw him off balance, but this time, she pulls on her arms at the same time. His hands tighten to the point that she's starts to worry he'll break the bones in her wrists.

"That's it. Scream for me," he says in a flirtatious voice.

"You're disgusting! A freak! What is wrong with you?!" Mai yells. She once again tries to throw him off of her, but he doesn't move an inch. Instead, he chuckles under his breath and leans toward her once more.

"Such a waste to let it just slide down your skin." She's not sure what he means by that until she feels his cold, wet tongue following the edge of her jawline up to her chin. She violently snaps her head to the side to try to get away from his tongue. He pulls back just a little with a thoughtful look on his face. "Hmmmm, not the most amazing I've had, but it's certainly not disgusting. That element of fear is just like icing on the cake."

Her stomach recoils, making her feel sick. Did he just say that she tasted good? He was just as unstable as Kanato seemed to be, if not worse. Despite knowing that it won't help, she tries to slam a knee into his back. She isn't able to get good enough momentum to do much more than bounce her knee off his back. He gives her a coldly, calculating look. "There is no need to be struggling. I'll give you more pleasure than you've ever dreamed possible."

She fights the tears and glares up at him. She pulls on her arms once again. "Get off."

He tilts his head with a smug smile. "Give me a kiss."

She flinches but stubbornly asks, "how old are you? Eight?"

The frown he gives her sends a chill down her spine. His voice no longer had any trace of amusement. In fact, he sounded cold and cruel. "You should have just taken the kiss."

His face grows closer once again. She tries to spit in his face, but he pulls back in time She feels him moving and fears that he's about to do something terrible to her. She sees her chance to break free when he moves one hand to hold both of her wrists. He was underestimating her.

She attempts to twist one of her hands free. It seems like he allows her do so. His now free hand seizes her chin. She grabs his wrist and tries to wrench it from her face. That's when the most unthinkable thing happens.

He says in a low, dangerous voice. "There is nothing great about drinking from the neck, but you need to be taught a lesson about respecting those better than you."

He leans forward while turning her head further to the side than what was comfortable. She gives one more definite jerk to try to dislodge him, but it fails miserably. Mind numbing pain races through her body when he bites the exposed side of her neck. She's faintly aware that he had moved his lower jaw which sends a shock through her whole body. The only thing she could do was make a strange gasping noise of pain in the back of her throat. She hears him swallow next to her ear, but her mind was foggy. It sounded so loud in her ear. The only sound that gets through the fog is groan of pure pleasure that comes from the boy on top of her.

She didn't want to believe it, but her pain-filled, foggy mind kept repeating over and over. This wasn't a normal. Being bitten was never normal, but this was as far from normal as one could get. She didn't think a human bite should make a person's mind so foggy that they couldn't even move. He wasn't human. She was sure of that now. She silently apologizes to Yui for not listening to her. It seemed like such a joke, but she didn't think she was dreaming. She wanted to be having a nightmare, but she was sure that she would have woken by now. She feels warm trails of salty tears run out the corner of her eyes, disappearing into her hair.

What was she going to do? What could she do?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy!

Slowly, her senses were coming back. She couldn’t feel the strange pinching sensation, but his face was still buried in her neck. This causes a warning bell to go off in her hazy mind. She could feel when Laito pulled away due to the fact that his hair tickles her face as he does. Her body felt oddly cold, but she forces her mind to focus. The moment he releases her chin, she quickly turns her head back to try to prevent him from getting the idea of biting her again. She flinches when pain races up and down her body at such a simple action. It felt almost like she had been shocked. She reaches an unsteady hand out to put on his chest and try to shove him away. He releases a chuckle, looking excited once more. His face slowly morphs into a loving look. He continues to hold her wrist over her head. His other hand reaches out to lightly trace along her jaw. She jerks her face away. She’s careful to try not to turn her head enough to expose her neck to him.

“Next time, I…..” His voice sounded mockingly gentle to her ears.

“There won’t be a next time!” Mai states. She flinches when her voice comes out sounding weaker than she wanted it to. He leans away from her until he’s sitting straight up. She was relieved that he had finally released her wrist. She quickly pulls her hand to her chest. She could see a bruise already forming over her wrist, but she didn’t dwell on it for the moment. She couldn’t afford to get distracted by anything when Laito still had her pinned to the stairs.

“Next time, I promise to be gentle. I’ll make you beg me for more.” A shiver runs down her spine. She didn’t want to think about how his voice sounded lustful. She mentally takes in her injuries to try to distract herself from the look of mock adoration on his face. Her foot was still throbbing, but she found that it had lessened after he had drank from her. Her chin was throbbing, and she was sure that it was going to bruise. There were several places where the carpet had scrapped at the skin on her legs and arms, but it didn’t look like she was bleeding anywhere. That’s when she noticed that he had lessened the amount of weight he was using to keep her down. Maybe she would be able throw him off this time? She just needed to wait for him to drop his guard a little more. For now, she’d just lay limply beneath him.

He slowly leans back down. She tenses when she notices his face approaching hers. Was he going to bite her again? The thought sent a jolt of fear through her body. She clenches one of her hands into a fist. She wanted to close her eyes, but she didn’t dare lose sight of him. It was never good to lose sight of the bad guy. His hair brushes along her cheek, and his lips brush the side of her jaw. She wanted to recoil in disgust, but she wanted him to let his guard down even more. The more he underestimated her, the better her chances of getting him off of her. He was leaving butterfly kisses along the side of her jaw heading. He first heads toward her chin then backtracks toward her ear. His hands settle on the stairs on either side of her head.

She barely represses the shudder when she hears him groan against her skin. For a moment, she considers aiming her fist for the side of his head, but she worried he might see it coming. Instead, she decides to aim for the area of his ribs just below his armpit. He pulls back to give her yet another loving look. It struck her as an odd time for her to notice that he didn’t have his fedora on. He must have lost it at some point, but she wasn’t sure when. His eyes are slowly becoming half lidded, and she sees her chance. She couldn’t stand the thought of him kissing her anymore than he already had. Her fist collides with his ribs, though she was lower than she wanted to hit. He lets out a grunt which is followed by a bone chilling chuckle. He leans down to press another kiss to her jaw. He suddenly rolls to the side to sit on one of the stairs. His thigh is lightly pressing against her side.

Once she is free, she rolls to her stomach and attempts to half crawl, half run up the stairs. An arm loops around her waist, and she finds herself facing the front door. Her face flushes a deep red when she feels him pull her back against his chest. She wanted to find some comfort in the fact that she wasn’t actually sitting on his lap, but she was still in between his legs on a stair lower than him. A thought occurs to her that makes her heart race. Was her back also pressed against his…. his…?

She wiggles in an attempt to get free from him. She didn’t want to think about what she was involuntarily touching with her back. Everything seems to freeze when there is a loud pounding noise on the door. A voice full of authority could be heard. “Police!”

Relief washes over her body. Yui had pulled through! She opens her mouth to scream for help. She fully expects Laito to cover her mouth and threaten her, but it never happens. She’s able to actually call for them. The door handle rattles a few times. She could hear the police talking amongst themselves. Mai glances over her shoulder to give Laito a smug look, only to realize that he was gone. Her heart skips a beat. She hadn’t even felt him move! A cracking noise brings her attention back to the door. She had never been so happy to see police in her life. 

Everything seems to happen so fast. She tells them everything that had happened, but it seemed like they didn’t believe her about Laito biting her neck. They ask how to reach her parents, and they ask what the attackers name was. Their bodies stiffen when she tells them his last name, and they share a glance. They finally allow Yui into the house to comfort Mai. It’s not long before the paramedics arrive. They talk to the police then approach to treat her wounds. She couldn’t help but notice that they were also stiff while talking to her. It made her feel uncomfortable. She felt stupid and was starting to doubt herself. It comes as a great relief to know that her foot wasn’t actually broken. It had just lost a fair amount of skin and would hurt badly for a few days due to a severe bruise.

Yui mutters an apology and leaves after a short while. She had said that she would get in trouble if she didn’t return home soon. She leaves before Mai gets a chance to talk to her alone and actually thank her. The remaining adults give Mai strange looks while they talk amongst themselves just outside the door. It just makes Mai feel more isolated. She desperately wishes she hadn’t mentioned the part about him biting her neck. She was still sitting on the stairs, but she was on the last stair instead of toward the top. It had been easier for the paramedics to move around her that way. Movement draws her gaze upward. One of the paramedics was starting to squat down in front of her. He pats her knee awkwardly and offers her a smile. “You hit your head pretty hard, when you fell down the stairs.”

She tries to tell him that she didn’t really fall down the stairs, but he just continues talking. “Try not to worry about it too much. You probably passed out. It’s hard to distinguish between dreams and reality when your mind is trying to wake up. The police are calling your parents now.”

Disbelief fills her, and it feels like the only thing she can do is stare blankly at the paramedic. He tells her to take some over the counter pain medications. If she was still in unbearable pain, she was to go to the hospital. He rattles off a few more things she should go to the hospital for, but she didn't hear any of them. He offers a goodbye, and she’s suddenly left alone in her house. She stares numbly at the door. The police had shut it on their way out, but it was clear that it wasn’t latching properly. She swallows hard to try to combat the tears that were swelling up. She felt incredibly stupid. She lifts her hands up to cover her face and just sits there for a while.

It felt like hours had passed, but she was sure that it was only a handful of minutes. With a sigh, she drags herself to a standing position and limps up the stairs. She wanted a shower before her parents got home. It'd make her feel a little better to have his salvia washed off her face and neck. She pauses in front of the mirror in the bathroom. She had been so numb and distracted by thoughts of what had happened that she hadn’t noticed that the paramedics had cleaned the shallow cut on her chin. She must have split the skin when she hit the stairs. Her eyes move down to her throat. She turns her head and leans in to inspect the wound. Her face flushes when she realizes why the paramedics wouldn’t have seen the puncture marks. They were covered by a large bruise. With a jolt, she realizes that’s what Laito had been doing right before he had pulled away. Her heart sinks the longer she looks at the hickey. She couldn’t even see the puncture marks. Hesitantly, she reaches up to touch the spot just to make sure that they were real. A shock of pain runs through her body, making her flinch hard. She hears a slamming noise downstairs.

Her body tenses, and she listens silently. Panic races through her body. She turns to look at the bathroom door. Was he back? Her thoughts race. If he was, what would she do? Should she creep to her room and look for her phone and call the police again? She flinches at that thought. She takes a deep breath to calm her nerves. She just had to calm down and think through her options. She jumps when hears someone making a thumping noise down stairs. Her breath hitches, and she rushes for the door. She reaches out and locks it just as a frantic call of her name causes every muscle in her body to freeze. She leans against the door, breathing a sigh of relief. It wasn’t Laito or some person breaking into their house. It sounded like her mother. Another frantic call makes her quickly try to open the door. She could hear her father calling her name as well, but he was more muffled. Her shaking hands finally gets the door open, and she rushes to the staircase as fast as she can. Tears well up when she sees that her mother is already halfway up the stairs. She wants to rush down, but she finds herself rooted.

Her mother’s not. She rushes up the stairs to give Mai a hug. Pain rushes throughout her body, making her flinch. Her mother pulls back just as her father arrives at the bottom of the stairs. He remains at the bottom looking up at the two. Mai just leans into her mother. She couldn’t stop the tears anymore. She tells her mother what had happened, though it takes longer than normal to do so. Her voice was choked and watery. Her mother just shakes her head, eyes also full of tears. Mai finally pulls away and mutters about a shower.

She quickly returns to the bathroom. She’s careful to not look in the mirror this time. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and not leave again. Her shower is short lived. Her body was throbbing painfully, and the warm water seemed to exaggerate the problems. She gets out and takes some medicine to help with the pain. Wrapped in her towel, she slowly makes her way out into the hallway. She faintly hears her father almost yelling downstairs. She pauses in the hallway to listen. He was muffled, and she couldn’t hear many coherent words. She figured he was probably in the kitchen. He pauses then snaps something. It made her wonder if he was on the phone. She decides to not give it much thought and limps her way to her room. She slowly opens the door, half expecting Laito to jump out at her from somewhere, but it’s empty.

She flinches when she sees her phone sitting on the nightstand where her alarm clock usually was. Her pepper spray was sitting beside her phone. She slowly finds her some clothes, which turns out to be a pair of sweats and a baggy t-shirt. She proceeds to flop over onto her bed and closes her eyes. She suddenly felt so drained. She lets out a soft sigh. She wanted to believe that this was a dream. Her reality couldn’t get broken so easily, but it was. She shudders when she remembers hearing him swallow and presses her hands over her ears, though she knows it won’t help. The sound was coming from her memories.

Finally, she drifts off into an uneasy sleep.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

She jerks away from the hand that touches her shoulder. Her mind was telling her that Laito was back, despite the fact that the hand was warm. With her eyes still closed, she frantically reaches around for the pepper spray to defend herself with, but she stops when her mother says her name. Her eyes actually snap open, and she can barely see her mother through the dying light that was filtering into her windows. Her mother looked troubled, which makes Mai’s heart sinks. Something couldn’t be wrong could it?

Her mother quietly asks her to go downstairs. She nods and drags herself up. Every movement sent a painful jolt through her body. She represses the wince, because she didn’t want to worry her mother anymore than necessary. She slowly follows her mother down the stairs. Halfway down the stairs, she realizes that she could hear her father and another man talking. The two females step into the kitchen. A strange man with peppered black hair and deep brown eyes was sitting at their table. He was wearing a navy blue suit and tie with black dress shoes. Mai and her mother both stop just inside the doorway, but it’s enough to get the two men’s attention. The man abruptly stands and turns to give the two a small bow. “My boss sends his deepest apology for what his son has done. He wanted you to know that he is greatly upset at his son’s despicable behavior, and he will see to it that Mr. Laito gets punished properly. He would like to make it up to your family.”

Mai wasn’t sure how to respond. She glances at her father, who had a sour look on his face. Mai’s gaze snaps back to the man when he moves. He was turning to face her father.

“I know you spoke to him on the phone. He would like to once again tell you that he would regret you taking your daughter out of Ryoutei Academy. As you know, it will provide a great future for her.”

“Like hell she is going back!” Mai’s father snarls at the man. He abruptly stands up. The man nods as though he agrees. He looked completely unfazed by her father’s obvious anger.

“Mr. Sakamaki would feel greatly apologetic if his family was the cause of her not living her life to the fullest potential. He informed me to offer you a gift.”

Mai’s father’s hand slams on the table. Mai and her mother both flinch. Mai’s father was usually easy going, so it wasn’t often they saw him this upset. Her father was shouting. “His son has done nothing but make my daughter’s life a living hell! We will not be bribed to stay silent! I am going to inform the press about the monster that he is raising!”

The man dips his head a little. It struck Mai as strange that the man wasn’t even trying to argue back. He continues on as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “He offered to pay for her fees to remain at that school. Your boss will be reimbursed for this year, and Mr. Sakamaki will pay for her senior year. He will pay for her college, regardless of length and subject, and any fees associated with obtaining the degree. He will pay off your family’s current debts. Now, should she chose to go to a different school, he will only pay the fees that she would need to go to school for this year. Nothing else.”

Silence descends on the room. The man dips his head once more lays a card on the table, turns and abruptly leaves. Mai’s eyes follow him out the door, which looked like it had been replaced while she was sleeping. She glances back at her father. He seems to snap out of his stupor when he feels her stare. He starts to shake his head. Her mother moves over to the table and slowly sits down. Mai stares at her parents. It felt like a weight was crashing down on her. This felt so surreal. She was positive that she was dreaming, because this just felt too cliche for her. Her father lets out a sigh and says, “Mai, disregard what he had said. We are not taking the money. We are going to find you a different school to go to. Your mother and I don’t need the help, and we will not be bribed. You are more important than anything else.”

He gives her a hug as he passes her by. He presses a kiss to the top of her head. Mai just numbly nods. This was nothing more than a bribe to keep quiet about Laito was doing to her at school. It would hurt his father’s image if other people were aware of the fact that his child was bullying a fellow classmate. She feels a shudder run through her body at a horrible thought. The father must know that his son is a vampire. Her body suddenly feels incredibly cold. So much had been going on that she hadn’t thought about how Laito had been turned into a vampire. Would she turn into one? There were so many legends surrounding vampires that she didn’t know what was true and what was just Hollywood taking liberties. She quickly pushes the disturbing thoughts away. It wouldn’t do any good to panic. Besides, she hadn’t turned into one yet, so she figured that she probably wouldn’t be turning into one any time soon.

She turns her head to look over her shoulder at her father, when she hears the stairs creak. She turns to look back at the her mother. Her hands were covering her face. Mai slowly makes her way over to give her mother a hug. They sit at the table in silence. Mai wasn’t sure what she should say. There was no way she was going to accept a gift from Laito’s family, regardless as to what it was. It would put her in debt to them, and being indebt to big influential family was never a good thing. She flinches at the thought. It’d be like getting a favor from the mafia.

_____________________________________________________________________________

She was glaring at the kitchen table silently cursing Laito. She had called every school in the city and even some in the surrounding cities, within reasonable distance. None would take her. In fact, the minute they heard her name, they would simply hang up on her. She lets her head fall to the table. It makes a loud thunking noise, causing her to flinch. Her mother and father had reluctantly gone back to work. It was Monday, and her body wasn’t nearly as sore.

She slowly lifts her head to stare at the phone. The card laid untouched in the center of the table. Anger swells in her chest, and she reaches out to grab it. All it had was the name Sakamaki Tougo and a phone number. She immediately tears up the paper and promptly throws it away before she slowly makes her way up the stairs. Her foot was nothing more than a dull ache now. It hurt when she first put shoes on, but she could easily walk on it again. She flops onto her bed and stairs at the wall. So, her choices were going to school at Ryoutei Academy or be a high school dropout. Her parents were too busy to help her with homeschooling, and she didn’t really have the motivation to keep on top of her school work without prompting from teachers. She closes her eyes tightly. Why did it have to turn out like this? She was seriously considering dropping out.

The thought made her wince. She wouldn’t get very far in life, but it was almost preferable to facing Laito again. She closes her eyes. He knew where she lived, so she didn’t think he would simply stop if she didn’t go to school. She takes a deep breath and releases it.

Time seems to fly by, and she finds herself in the bathroom dressed in her uniform. She flinches at the sight of the hickey on her neck. She quickly opens the neck of her uniform and frantically looks for something to hide it with. Of course Laito had to put it in a spot that everyone could see and was hard to cover up. She finally settles for leaving her hair down and simply using it to try to cover the area. Bandages would just draw attention to the spot and prompt people to ask what happened, and she had no idea what to tell them. The hickey was dark, so she didn’t think that make-up would fully cover it, besides it still hurt to touch it. Luckily, the rest of the bruises were easy to hide. She takes a deep breath to steady her nerves and returns to her room to gather up her book bag and makes her way to school.

She keeps her head down and hurries toward her class once she is in the school. Her heart was racing, and she found herself jumping at every sound. Her heart stops once she makes it to her homeroom without an incident. Something was bound to happen. Nothing ever goes this smoothly. Her eyes glance around the room, and it feels like someone has knocked the air out of her lungs. Ayato was there, sprawled out on his desk. He seemed to be asleep though. Kanato was at the back of the classroom. He was holding his teddy bear tightly and looking out the window. She decides it’s best to just leave and wait for the warning bell to ring. It’d be better if there were witnesses. Mai turns to leave, but her body collides with another’s. She flinches back, but she feels a sense of relief when she sees it’s only Yui. Yui leaps at her, startling Mai. It felt like she hit every single bruise on Mai’s body. She lets out a low hissing noise. Yui pulls away with an apologetic look. She quickly and quietly asks. “Are you alright? I didn’t mean to bring him to your house! I didn’t know!”

Mai can’t help but smile. She lifts a hand to push Yui a little bit further away and says, “it’s fine. I know you didn’t do it on purpose. You helped me by getting the police. I never got to thank you for doing that.”

Yui’s crimson eyes fall to the ground, still looking guilty. Mai flinches when she can feel eyes on the two of them. She glances to see that Ayato was awake now, and he was looking amused at the two. Kanato was wearing a frown that made her nervous. She could still remember his tantrum and tears the last few times she had interacted with him. She quickly grabs Yui’s arm intent on leaving. The door had shut at some point, so Mai reaches out to open it. It only opens a few inches before its slammed shut. Irritation swells in her stomach. Yui had pulled away from her. Mai turns her head to look over her shoulder. Ayato was leaning over her keeping the door shut. He sneers at her. “Don’t take yours truly’s food.”

Mai wants to childishly stick her tongue out at him, but she refrains from doing so. Instead, she says as calmly as she can. “You sound stupid saying that. Also, Yui is a person, and she is my friend. She’s not food. Now, I’d like to be able to talk to her, and I don’t need your permission.”

He scoffs coldly at her and moves his hand from the door. A warning bell starts to ring in her mind. He had given in much too easily. She didn’t know Ayato that well, but she had seen how pushy he was with Yui. Mai doesn’t turn her eyes from his face. She was trying to discreetly peer into his mouth to see if she could see fangs. She slowly opens the door. He doesn’t move to shut it again. Instead, his hands are folded over his chest, and he seems to be watching Mai’s every move. She blindly reaches out for Yui. Just as her fingers brush Yui, a smile breaks out on Ayato’s face. He reaches out and pushes her like always. She scrambles backward, out the open doorway. She catches her balance just as he mockingly waves at her. She rushes forward to try to stop the door from closing. Ayato’s mocking laughter echoes through the hallway, but he doesn’t actually stop Mai from shoving the door open. She storms into the classroom, ready to give her a piece of her mind. A foot appears between hers, and her body pitches forward. Yui lets out a gasp of Ayato’s name.

Mai hits the floor hard. Pain fueled anger surges through her. He didn’t just look like Laito; it seemed like he acted like him, too. Mai slowly pushes herself up. She could hear Yui starting to lecture Ayato, though he clearly didn’t seem to care. Kanato’s laughter mixes with Ayato’s. Mai closes her eyes in humiliation. Once she is standing, she acts without thinking. She spins to face Ayato, who seems to laugh harder at her cold glare. Her hand raises, and she proceeds to slap him hard. For a moment, Ayato seems startled by her actions. Mai is just as startled. She was just going to give him a piece of her mind, but she took her anger at Laito out on Ayato. Kanato only seems to laugh harder. Yui is the first to react. She reaches out grabbing Mai’s arm and proceeds to drag her out of the classroom.

Mai’s heart starts to pound when she hears Ayato snap loudly. “You stupid bitch! I’ll teach you to never lay a hand on Yours Truly!”

She glances back, but it causes her to stumble. Yui’s grip just tightens even more. Mai had no idea where the two of them were headed, but Yui seemed to have a destination in mind. Mai glances back once more to see if Ayato was following them. The hallway seemed eerily empty. A door opening in front of her catches her attention. She only has enough time to look forward when Yui shoves her into the room. She has to awkwardly dodge the body of an upperclassman that was stretched out on the floor close to the door.

Yui doesn’t manage to step over him as easy. In fact, her foot collides with his side, and she ends up tumbling over him. He makes a grunting noise before stating something under his breath. Yui’s face turns a bright red. Mai stares at him completely bewildered by his lack of response. What bewilders her even more is the fact that Yui didn’t seem overly surprised by his presence. She just scrambles up, somehow managing to knee him. All it grants is a soft insult of “clumsy woman” before he rolls onto his side. Yui awkwardly leans over him and shuts the door.

Mai covers her mouth trying to keep from laughing. It looked like Yui was once again going to kick or step on him. Somehow, she manages to keep from doing so. Yui quickly gestures for Mai to follow and makes her way across the room toward the closets. Mai glances back at the upperclassman before she follows. She was sure that she had seen him before, but she couldn’t remember where. Both girls end up sitting on the floor across the room from him. Mai was still trying to remember where she had seen him. Yui seems to catch onto her thoughts since she says. “That’s Sakamaki Shuu.”

Mai’s body tenses, and she gives him a more critical once over. He seemed to be asleep, but Mai couldn’t help but feel like something bad was going to happen. Every Sakamaki she had met had ended with her getting some sort of new bruise.

A chuckle erupts from Yui. Reluctantly, Mai turns her attention to the petite blonde. She says softly. “Don’t worry. He isn’t going to do anything. He’s actually kind of lazy. I figured we could hide in here until Ayato calms down. Most people don’t come in here because of Shuu. I don’t think Ayato will think to come here either.”

There is a grunt from the other side of the room, and Mai finds herself warily eyeing Shuu. Did he want something? Despite what Yui said, Mai wasn’t going to let her guard down. Yui covers her mouth and continues to stifle her laughter. Mai turns her suspicious look on her friend. Yui proceeds to say between her laughs. “I can’t believe you struck Ayato! I don’t think anyone does that!”

Mai wasn’t sure how to react to that. She hears a chuckle and quickly glances at Shuu’s back. Once she’s sure he’s not going to make a move, she glances back at her giggling friend. “Why is that?”

Yui gains a thoughtful look, and her laughter fades away. It takes a moment for her to reply. “Well, I suppose it’s because he is a handful. I mean it’s easier to give him what he wants than to have him take it. He’s not exactly gentle.”

Mai frowns at her friend. “Why don’t you fight against him?”

Her hand unconsciously lifts to touch her collarbone. The bite mark was still painful to touch, and she didn’t want to jerk in front of Yui. It’d be embarrassing. She felt like being bitten was degrading, painful, and an overall horrible experience that she planned to never relive. Ayato was a vampire too according to Yui. That meant that Yui had probably been bitten countless times. The thought made Mai feel sick to her stomach. She had never seen Yui fight against Ayato once. Yui’s face falls for a moment. She says softly, “He’s got a different side to him. One he doesn’t really show others. Sure he is rough, but he can be so sweet and caring too.”

Mai can’t help but roll her eyes. Yui sounded completely lovestruck and naive. Frustration at Yui’s behavior gets the better of Mai. “He only shows that side to you, right? I think there is a reason for how you are feeling about him. It’s called Stockholm Syndrome.”

Yui casts a hurt look Mai’s way, and she instantly regrets it. She turns her gaze to the floor. “Sorry, I just…. I didn’t mean to say that.”

Yui laughs, but it has a sad ring to it. That just makes Mai feel even worse. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She opens her mouth to try and change the subject, but she’s stopped by the door slamming open. Her heart skips a beat to see a very irrite Ayato standing there. He takes a step in. His foot collides with Shuu. Mai feels like putting a hand to her forehead when all Shuu does is make a grunting noise.

“Move,” Ayato practically snarls. Shuu’s back was to the girls, so Mai wasn’t sure if he opened his eyes or not.

“Go around,” Shuu says. Ayato’s face twists with anger. He aims a kick toward Shuu. To Mai’s surprise, Shuu doesn’t even try to dodge or block the kick. He just continues to lie there. Ayato kicks him a few more times. Each kick gets harder and harder. Yui scrambles up to stop Ayato. Mai remains rooted to the spot. She could only stare at the blonde boy in disbelief. Why didn’t he try to defend himself against his younger brother? Yui scrambles over Shuu and was trying to push Ayato back.

Everything goes silent when Shuu finally stands up. Mai feels her breath hitch, wondering if the older Sakamaki had finally had enough. To her utter disbelief, he mutters something along the lines of them being too loud before he disappears out the door. Ayato makes a noise of disgust before his vivid green gaze lands on Mai. She scrambles to her feet and levels a glare at him. He confidently crosses the short distance between them. Mai determinedly remains in her spot. She wasn’t about to cower to him. Her hands tighten into a fists. He reaches out and grabs a fist full of the front of her uniform and jerks her upward. Her heart was already racing. She just wanted to get away from him.

She fully intends to hit him until something brushes her side, just above her hip. She tries to flinch away but Ayato kept her in place. Her heart sinks when she hears a familiar voice playfully ask. “Can I join the fun? Are you going to bite her right in front of Little Bitch?”

Laito seems to appear from out of thin air right beside her. He gives her a flirtatious wink, which only serves to make her feel like her skin is crawling. She closes her eyes in frustration when she feels his arm snake around her waist. Without missing a beat, she puts a hand on his side to shove him away. It doesn’t seem to affect him, much to her disappointment. She wasn’t overly surprised though. He says. “Let’s get closer!”

He uses his arm to forcibly shove Mai into Ayato, who grunts in irritation. Ayato violently shoves her away. She stumbles back, and, like all the times before, she ends up landing painfully on his butt. She glances up at the two brothers. Ayato wasn’t even looking at her anymore; he was staring at Laito in disgust. Laito was looking at her with an amused look on his face. Ayato turns around and heads for the door. His voice is full of disgust when he says. “Not interested in playing your stupid game, pervert.”

“Ah, Ayato. Don’t be so shy! I promise you she’ll be a lot of fun! Besides I could keep Little Bitch company. It’d be so fun to see her face twisted with jealousy at the fact that you are having such an experience with her friend!” Laito practically whines at him. Mai scrambles to her feet and proceeds to hurry after Ayato. There was no way that she was going to stay in the room with Laito. Worry feels her stomach when she sees him grab Yui’s upper arm and violently drag her out the door. Yui casts a worried look back at Mai. Worry fills her friend’s face. “Oops! Where are we going?”

An arm wraps around her waist, and she finds herself pulled back into Laito. She lifts her legs, but it doesn’t seem to bother him. She slams her feet into the ground and slams her head back into his face. She hears a painful crack from behind her. Her head spins for a moment, but she notices that he loosened his grip on her. She throws her weight forward, and, to her surprise, he lets her go. She stumbles forward having to put a hand on the ground to steady herself. She rushes for the door. Just before she makes it, he seems to materialize before her. His nose was bleeding, and she could have sworn that she saw a livid look on his face. It disappears just as quickly, so she’s not sure that she even seen it.

“Now, now. That’s wasn’t very nice. Maybe we need a lesson in manners?” He playfully lectures. Mai immediately reels back. This would be the last time she ever let Yui lead the way. He leans back against the door with his arms crossed. His green eyes never leave her body. The warning bell rings, making her heart sink. The music room likely wouldn’t be used today, especially if what Yui said was true. She felt like it should bother her that she had been there longer than Yui, but Yui seemed to know more about the more social aspect of school. She found that it didn’t though. She wasn’t sure if she should feel relieved that Laito wasn’t lunging after her or more afraid at the fact that he was staring at her so intently. He suddenly claps his hands, making her jump. “Let’s play a game!”

“No,” she bluntly answers.

“I see. You just want to make out. That’s why you came here. Oh, you are such dirty girl! Don’t worry I will oblige your every desire.” He sounded much too cheerful. He begins to stalk toward her. He makes a show out of looking up and down her body. She makes sure to keep as much distance between them as possible, though it was difficult to do in a room with various musical instruments.

“You are a freak. Who would want to even touch you?”

He casually runs his fingers around the front rim of his fedora. He proudly says, “Oh, plenty of girls. Are you jealous?”

Mai doesn’t mean to, but she makes a soft scoffing sound. Her eyes drift to the door then back to him. He had moved quite a distance away while he’d been talking. Maybe if she could keep him talking, she could get to it before he noticed. She focuses all of her attention on Laito, though she was casually trying to inch her way toward the door. “Why would I be jealous if you were with other girls?”

He gives her a mock hurt look. He softly clicks his tongue. “Now, now. Don’t be so hostile. I have enough love to go around.”

The thought makes Mai flinch. She couldn’t believe he would so openly admit something like that. It made him sound like such a whore. She opens her mouth to retort when he says, “You won’t escape from here. Not without playing my game first.”

Mai feels irritation spreading throughout her body. There was no way that she wanted to play his game. Still, it might distract him if she pretended to go along with it. Slowly, she releases a sigh and says. “Fine. What kind of game is it?”

He gives her another flirtatious smile. “It’s simple. I’ll ask a question about myself, and you’ll answer. If you answer wrong, you give me a piece of your clothing, then it’s your turn. Same rule applies to me.”

Disgust overwhelms Mai’s irritation. “Hell no!”

He lets out an amused laugh. He lifts a finger to the side of his mouth with a thoughtful look. “We could just talk, but that isn’t any fun.”

Mai stubbornly shakes her head. She wasn’t his friend, so there was no way that she was just going to casually talk to him. His vivid green eyes light up for a moment. Her entire body tenses, which seems to amuse him. Silence settles over the two of them. Mai’s mind races for a moment. She could run for the door, but he made it already apparent that he knew she was planning to do that. She would need to inch her way over, and, to do that, she would have to distract him more. She didn’t think playing his game would be a good idea. She observes him for a moment. He was casually playing with the rim of his hat while watching her. 

“Ok, we can talk.”

He releases a chuckle and starts to shake his head. “No way, sweetheart. You missed that chance. It’s the game now, or something more… physical.”  
She flinches and releases a sigh. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, but she tried to keep herself from panicking. She didn’t see anyway out other than playing his stupid game. There was no way she was going to let him touch her again. She levels a glare at him. “I’ll play your game, but I won’t take off my clothes, and there will be a limit to how many questions are asked. Once we are done, you’ll let me out.”

A mock look of disappointment settles over his face. He tilts his head, and a thoughtful look overtakes his face. For a heart stopping minute, Mai thinks he’s going to decline her modifications to his game, but he levels a chilling smile at her. “I’ll be kind and give you a choice!”

Dread fills her body. She had a feeling that she wasn’t going to like any choice he gave her. He playfully runs his fingers along the rim of his fedora, putting a show into thinking it over carefully. Mai flinches. She was positive that he had already decided what the choices were going to be. He was just trying to torment her by letting her imagine what he was thinking. He finally casts a smug look her way. He steps between her and the door. She just watches him silently. She still had her pepper spray if he tried to get too touchy. She had made the mistake of leaving it out of reach once. She wouldn’t do that again. She even slept with it within reach.

That thought reminded her that he still had her pocket knife. He holds up three fingers. They drop away as he names off her choices. “Choice one is if you get the answer wrong, you have to take off a piece of clothing. Choice two is if you get the answer wrong I get to kiss you on any part of your body, without you struggling against me.”

Her stomach was feeling heavier and heavier with each passing choice. She slips her hand into her pocket to grip the pepper spray. His eyes glow with an eerie light that sends a chill down her spine. She watches with slight horror as the tip of his tongue sticks out to wet his lips. She tries her hardest to push the terror away. It would just cloud her judgement like last time, and that hadn’t ended well. He continues on. “Choice three is we do a point system. No touching. The winner is the one with the most points! If you answer wrong, I get a point. If I answer wrong, you get a point. A correct answer rewards the person a point too. Simple, right?”

She couldn’t help but feel like he was baiting her to take that one. Her hand grips the pepper spray tighter. “What does the winner get?”

He tilts his head. His eyes narrow playfully. He lifts a finger to his lips, giving her a suggestive wink as he presses his finger to his lips. “That’s a secret. I promise it won’t hurt though.”

His voice had dropped to a huskier sound. Mai feels a chill run down her spine. She was certain that the last option wouldn’t be pain free for her. Her mind races. She was frantically trying to find the hidden meaning in his words, but she could only pull up a blank. It was starting to frustrate her. He begins to stalk toward her. She stubbornly holds her ground. She wasn’t about to retreat and give him the satisfaction of knowing that he did in fact intimidate her after their last encounter. Besides, she found it foolish to back herself up into a wall and offer herself up to his mercy. He says in a husky voice. “Aren’t I just being so nice to you? So what’s it going to be, sweetheart?”

She could feel dread threatening to overwhelm her. She couldn’t make a rash choice, and she was sure that he was trying to make her do just that. He was closing in on her faster than she wanted him too. Frantically, she says. “Don’t call me ‘sweetheart’. It’s rude. I have a name. It’s Mai, and I’d like you to use it.”

He chuckles deep in his throat. Mai barely represses the urge to flinch back. He coos softly. “I like the name sweetheart though. It fits you.”

She gives him the coldest look she could manage at the moment. It felt like she had distracted him, so she just continues on. “How do you figure?”

He makes an arrogant chuckle. He says playfully. “It’s a generic name, just like you.”

She feels her jaw drop. Did he just insult her? She instantly feels stupid for wondering that. She levels a glare at him and says as cold as she can. “Well, if I am so generic, why are you trying so hard to torment me?”

He clicks his tongue softly. He had stopped just out of reach. She felt immensely grateful for that fact. She doesn’t give him a chance to answer. She tries to add a mocking edge to her voice when she says, “is your answer going to be: ‘because you are friends with Yui’?”

He stares at her silently for a moment and then leans his head back to laugh. It looked like true laughter. Worry fills Mai’s chest. She realized that she was never sure how much of his actions were genuine and how much was an act. He levels a frighteningly amused look at her. He quietly says. “Oh, how adorable. You think you are so smart, don’t you?”

She tries to hold back a snarl. She had never felt so offended in her life. He clearly notices, but he just seems to enjoy it even more. She tries to keep her anger in check when she says. “This is the cliche part where you tell me I know too much to even stop being friends with her, so I’m screwed either way right?”

He raises his eyebrows in clear amusement. “My, my.”

She almost takes a threatening step toward him, but she halts her movements. There was no way that she was going to get closer to him than she needed to. She could feel her anger boiling beneath her skin. She just needed to get as far away from him as possible and stay away. Dropping out was looking better and better to her, regardless of the consequences. His voice is low, like he is talking to a child. “Who would believe the poor, crazy girl? You’d be put into an insane asylum if you went around telling people vampires were real, and that the big, bad vampires were the sons of a famous politician. You have no cards to play, but you are right about it not mattering if you are friends with Little Bitch or not. It won’t matter if you stop being friends with her. I actually strongly advise you do, but it won’t matter. You see, sweetheart, you are such a feisty little thing. It’s been awhile since I’ve had a plaything like you. I’ll enjoy breaking you until you beg me for more.”

A cold sweat had broken out all over Mai’s body. She wanted to be able to retort, but she found herself frozen for a few minutes. It felt like everything in her body had stopped working. Finally, she swallows hard and puts as much strength as she can into saying, “I’m not your toy, you sick bastard.”

He makes a clicking noise with his tongue. “That’s not very lady-like.”

She takes an involuntary step back, but he hadn’t moved an inch. He was still just out of reach. She wanted to spray him in the face and run like she’s done before. Nothing was stopping her other than her own stupid fear. Just as gathers the courage to do so, he starts talking again.

“It’s no fun if you break too easily, so don’t worry. I’ll take my time breaking you thoroughly. Now, which of the three choices is it going to be?”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

She rips the pepper spray out of her pocket, but his hand closes around hers. She barely represses the hiss of pain when he squeezes so tightly that she’s afraid that he’ll break her fingers. She stubbornly glares up at him. There was no way she would willingly let him see how scared she was. He leans down until his face is inches from hers. He was wearing a playful smile that only served to ignite fury in the pit of her stomach. She tries to focus on that rather than the mind numbing fear. His voice is low, almost seductive. “I’ll make it easy for you. Whoever makes it to ten points win, regardless of which choice you make. Now, what’s your choice?”

She still hadn’t chosen, but it looked like she was being quickly backed into a corner. She takes a deep breath and tries to keep the pain from her voice. “I chose the last one.”

His face lights up, which makes her instantly regret her choice. He seemed way too happy for comfort. “Good! Let’s start! What instrument do I play?”

She stares at him completely dumbfounded. He releases her hand and turns his back to her. Hope helps to calm the fear and cool the fire of her anger. He was underestimating her. She considers hitting him over the back of the head with something, but she misses her chance when he steps out of her reach. She mentally berates herself for not taking advantage of his arrogance. She casts her eyes around the room, trying to find something that would suit him. Most rich people played the violin, right? She turns her gaze back on him. “The violin?”

He clicks his tongue. He slowly makes his way toward the piano. The closer he gets to it, the more her heart sinks. He finally sits at it. She flinches when he starts to play. She wouldn’t admit, but his music sounded beautiful. She listens to the haunting melody that he’s playing in silence. It was almost unbelievable that someone as cruel as him could produce such a beautiful sound. It hits her that she recognized the song. It was the haunting melody that was playing when she had her stuff stolen, and she had run into Kanato on the staircase. She flinches at the thought that she could have been in this very situation months earlier, only naive to Laito’s true nature. She closes her eyes. Asking her what instrument he played was cheating. It wasn’t like they were close. In fact, this whole game was cheating. She didn’t know much about Laito.

If he wanted to be unfair, she could too. She would ask some less than personal questions, but it’d still be stuff that no one in school, aside from maybe Yui, knew. She confidently opens her eyes and asks, “What is my favorite movie?”

He doesn’t pause his song. His back was to her, so she couldn’t see the reaction on his face, but she had no desire to approach him. Still, she found herself curious if he was stumped. “It’s a toss up between Stay Alive and Dawn of the Dead.”

A mind numbing shock runs through her body. How did he know that? A creepy feeling fills her chest. He doesn’t seem to notice, though she didn’t really expect him to, since he hadn’t even looked back at her. “What are the names of all of my brothers?”

She feels confident for a moment. She tries to show her confidence in her voice. “Ayato, Kanato, and…..”

Her mind blanks. She frantically searches her mind. “Ummm….. Shuu?”

She feels a sense of relief. She had only met him a short while ago. Her panic was clouding her mind. She just needed to relax. He had gotten one answer right. She had missed the first one. That didn’t mean that he was going to win. She just needed to try harder to keep him from scoring anymore points. To her relief, she sees him nod his head. That relief disappears when he asks, “and the other two?”

She feels her panic set in. She was trying to think if Yui had mentioned the last two by name. She couldn’t remember Yui mentioning either brother. In fact, the two typically tried to avoid talking about the Sakamakis. Mai decides that taking a guess was better than admitting that she didn’t know. “Kyo and… Umm…..”

He chuckles, and she feels dread swell in her stomach. His hands stop, drawing a note out. Once it dies down, he says. “Reiji and Subaru. I have three points now, sweetheart.”

She flinches. She wasn’t losing horribly, but she couldn’t help but think this was still unfair. Her mind scrambles for a question that he shouldn’t know an answer to. She was sure that she hadn’t talked about this with anyone for quite a while. “What is my favorite mythical creature?”

He doesn’t miss a beat. He just picks up playing a different, slightly sadder song. “Dragons.”

She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that he knew that answer. He casts a flirtatious look back at her. He turns his attention back to the piano before him. “You are losing horribly. My question. What is my favorite snack food?”

 

She glances at the door. This would be the perfect time make her way toward it. She could hear him humming something under his breath, but she just assumed it was some lyrics that went along with what he was playing. She starts to inch her way toward the door. The game didn’t seem as important. She was already down by four points, and he seemed to know stuff about her that he shouldn’t. It sent a chill down her spine. She says the first thing she can think of. “Pudding.”

Laito lets out a chuckle. His head slowly starts to shake. She was desperately fighting the panic that was building up. He was already halfway to finishing, and she hadn’t scored a single point against him. “Macaroons.”

She was closing in on the door. She just needed to distract him a little longer. She was thankful that he was playing the piano. It helped to hide her footsteps. She asks the first thing that comes to mind. “What’s my favorite food?”

He actually takes a moment to respond. It made her heart race with hope instead of fear. Maybe he didn’t know the answer to this one. His voice is low so low that she almost misses his next word. “Seafood.”

A cold sweat breaks out over her body. This was just too creepy. She can’t hold back her questions anymore. She had to know how he knew this information. “How do you know this stuff? Are you stalking me?”

He pulls his hands from the piano. Silence settles in the room. He didn’t turn to look at her. Instead, his gaze moves toward the partially covered window. “It’s easy to know stuff about people if you just pay attention to them. That’s six points.”

“Fuck your game, you freak!” Mai snaps. The only thing she could think of was getting out the door. She was already so close to it. She reaches out to grab it. The handle doesn’t turn. In her panic, she hadn’t see that he had locked it. She quickly reaches out and unlocks the door before ripping it open. Warning bells were going off in her head. He hadn’t tried to stop her once. In fact, he had started playing once more. His voice has a chilling edge. “If you leave without finishing the game, there will be consequences.”

“Go to hell!” She practically yells at him before she bolts out the door. It felt like his beautiful song was haunting her. She didn’t want to go to school anymore. She would tell her parents that she was sorry, but she would just drop out. She’d figure something else in order to go on to college. In her rush to get away from Laito, she stumbles on the stairs and slips down a few of them on her butt. It jars her wounds, making tears well up in her eyes. This was just a horrible nightmare. She would wake up, and everything would be fine.

She scrambles to her feet and continues on down the stairs. She rounds the corner, almost colliding with a female student that she didn’t know. She mutters an apology before she steps around to continue running. Her heart stops when the girl’s hand wraps painfully around her wrist, aggravating the bruise that Laito had already left on her wrist days earlier. She turns to snap at the girl, but she finds that the girl’s eyes are glossy, like they weren’t even real. She is too stunned to prevent the girl from swinging her body around as if she didn’t weigh anything. Mai’s back painfully collides with a set of lockers. Tears spring to her eyes when she feels all of her bruises hurting. The girl’s hand reaches for Mai’s throat. They successfully wrap around her throat and cut off Mai’s air supply. Mai wants to reach up and grab the girl’s hands, but she knows it won’t do any good. Instead, she slams both of her fists into the girl’s elbows from below as hard as she can to try hyperextend them. She flinches with it doesn’t even seem to bother the girl.

It was like the girl didn’t feel anything that Mai did to her. Mai had tried to stomp on her foot, even pushes so hard on her knee that she’s sure she is about to break it. Black was creeping into her vision. She aims a weak punch at the girl’s side. Her body suddenly slumps to the floor, gasping for breath. The girl was sitting hunched over Mai’s body awkwardly. It set a jolt of fear through her body. She knew her punch hadn’t hit hard enough to do that. In fact, she was sure she had missed, and her knuckles had grazed the girl. She pushes the girl. The girl felt oddly stiff, which just served to make Mai panic even more. She twists, crawls out from under the girl and scrambles to her feet. She rushes toward the door. She doesn’t dare look back to see if she was being chased. She throws her body against the door. It opens without a problem. The chilly air rushes in. It freezes any skin that is exposed, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to get away. She leaps down the stairs instead of running down them. She stumbles when she hits the ground, but she is able to maintain her balance. She thought she heard his amused laugh behind her. It spurs her to run faster. Just as she makes it out the gate, the woman dressed in white appears in her way. She skids to a stop it felt like her heart was racing so fast that it was going to beat out of her chest. Her movements are jerky, and she snaps her head in Mai’s direction. Like before, she reaches out toward Mai. Mai spins on her heel and bolts the opposite direction of her house. There was no way that she was going to try going around the woman to try to get to her house. She would just take a different route to her house. She fumbles around in her pockets for her phone.

It didn’t seem to matter where she ran, a woman would appear after a time. It seemed like different women, but Mai wasn’t paying close attention. They all had the something in common. They were always wearing white. It was too late when Mai realized that it was like they were leading her in a desired direction. She slows to a walk when she realizes that she had entered a dark park in her panic. She grits her teeth. How could she be so stupid? This was how people got killed! She shakingly pulls out her phone. She immediately pulls up her dad’s contact. She hadn’t been able to call him while she was running, and she knew that she had made the biggest mistake of her life by coming to this place. Why hadn’t she thought this through better?

She lifts the phone to her ear. She hears it ring once, but the phone is snatched away. She tenses, but she doesn’t dare turn around. She expected to be grabbed or be bitten. The seconds seem to creep by without anything happening. She slowly turns her head to find that she is alone in the park, only she doesn’t have her phone. She can hear the faint sounds of people not far away. Her heart speeds up with hope. If she could get to them, she would stand a chance against Laito. She doesn’t give herself a chance to doubt her choice. There was no way she could go back the way she had came from, since she was sure that it was Laito who had taken her phone, and he had done so from behind her. She runs straight for the sounds of people. She had never been to this park before. It seemed like it was made to give people a sense of being in the country. It had several walking paths that twists off into the trees. She didn’t dare leave the one that she was on though. It was the only one that seemed to lead straight. In fact, she could see only one bend in it. Besides, she was sure that around the next bend would lead her back to where people are.

Unfortunately, she doesn’t make it to the bend. An arm wraps around her waist, and she feels herself lifted a few inches off the ground. She lets out a scream. She claws desperately at the arm, but his school uniform was protecting his skin. His voice sounded amused. “I told you if you left you’d be punished.”

She lets out another scream, hoping that someone would hear her. He didn’t even bother trying to silence her. He just presses his face into her neck. She was positive that she was about to feel that horrible pain again. She tries everything she can to get away from him. She slams her heels into his shins; she pinches his arms through his clothes. She tries to slam her head into him, but nothing seems to work. He doesn’t move at all other than starting to slowly squeeze her. 

After a few minutes, he starts to move his face a little bit, and she’s not sure what he’s doing. She didn’t want to think about it. She just wanted to focus all of her thoughts into getting away. She tries to pull his sleeve up to get to his skin. His cold lips press against where he had bitten a couple days ago. She jerks when it sends a jolt of pure shock through her body. She could feel his chuckle against her skin. He gently kisses her neck a few more times. Stunned, she finds her movements slowly stopping. To her absolute horror, he was treating her like some sort of lover. It made her stomach twist uncomfortably. She starts to struggle even harder than before, but she completely freezes when she feels his teeth lightly scrape against her skin. That message was loud and clear to her.

It was like he was saying, ‘if you keep struggling, I’ll make this even more painful for you’.

“My turn,” he mutters in a husky voice that sends chills down her spin. His turn for what? She couldn’t wrap her head around those two simple words. One of his hands moves low on her abdomen, halting any other thoughts on that subject. Her breath hitches in her throat. She couldn’t even scream now, even if she wanted to. He wouldn’t touch her, would he? Is this what he meant by his turn? His cold fingers stop just above the hem of her skirt. Just when she thinks he’s done, he slips a couple of cold fingers underneath her shirt. She jerks and starts to immediately start thrashing again. He chuckles against the skin of her neck. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. Was he going to brutally take her first time and then kill her? She hadn’t exactly put much thought in how she wanted her first time to go, but it certainly wasn’t like this! “What is a hobby of mine?”

She is stumped for a moment. What could he possibly be talking about? Finally, it dawns on her, and she couldn’t believe that he was still playing that stupid game of his! She considers not answering, but the finger in her shirt had dipped a little lower, brushing the very top of the hem of her skirt. Her whole body jerks. She reaches down and grabs his wrist as tightly as she can between her two hands. She tried to pry his hand off of her body. His teeth brush her skin once more, but she doesn’t give up pulling on his hand. She lets out a choked noise, since she was trying to hold back the sob that was threatening to spill forth. “I… I don’t…… tormenting me?”

He chuckle and plants another cold kiss on her neck. “You certainly are conceited. Aren’t you, sweetheart? I enjoy doing crossword puzzles. Seven points.”

She wanted to beg him to stop, but she thought he’d enjoy that more than her struggling. She stubbornly holds back any sound that wanted to spill from her mouth, but her tears are slowly running down her face. To her utter relief, he finally pulls his hand from her shirt. He keeps the one wrapped around her waist to keep her a few inches off the ground. Her relief is short lived. His hand had reached up to fiddle with the bow around her neck. She still hadn’t let go of his wrist, so she pulls on his hand all over again to try to stop his hand from undoing the bow. She had to distract him somehow. The only thing she can think of is to try to use his own game. “M...my….my tu….turn, right?”

She flinches at the sound of her own voice. It was weak and watery, not at all how she wanted to sound. He doesn’t answer her. Her body is released, but she doesn’t get a chance to run. She’s spun so fast that she feels dizzy. Once more, his arm wraps around her waist and draws her close. She tries to keep distance between them by putting her arms up. Unfortunately, he just pulls her lower half flush against his. His chuckle still has a husky undertone. “Of course it is.”

She drops her face, but his hand wraps around her chin and lifts it. She settles a glare on her face, though she’s sure that the effect is ruined by the tears still running down her face. He leans forward. She tries turn her face away, but his hand prevents her from doing so. She still had her pepper spray that she could use. All thoughts leave her mind when she feels his cold, wet tongue slowly lick up either side of her face. Disgust mixes in with all the other emotions she is currently feeling. Her voice comes out weak and miserable. “Please, just let me go.”

He presses his face into her neck once again. She can feel both his hair and fedora brushing her skin. His lips lightly press up and down her neck. She tries to shove him hard, and, for a hope filled minute, she manages to get a little space between them. His arm keeps her from getting any further away though. She tries to twist away, but his hand lets go of her chin and falls to fully trap her. “Your turn.” 

She grits her teeth as hard as she can. She didn’t want to play his game, but he wasn’t giving up. It was like he knew her every move. She manages to whisper. “What do I want to be when I grow up?”

She flinches when she feels his whispered answer against her skin. “A doctor. Who is the youngest of my brothers and I?”

She feels like her heart was stopping. She had no idea what Reiji and Subaru looked like. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees movement. Hope fills her chest, and she turns to call out to them. The words die in her throat. The movement was gone, but she could have sworn it was a woman dressed in white. She feels him turn his head. His lips brush the underneath side of her jaw. She leans her head as far away as possible. She shoves on his chest, and he does move a little more. She feels his body shift. She shoves roughly again, hoping to get him off balance. She drops her weight planning to get under his arms. His thigh comes up between her legs, hitting her hard. She lets out a loud cry of surprise and pain. She abruptly straightens back up, though she could still feel the fabric of his uniform brushing against her exposed inner thighs. She found that she desperately hated skirts at that point. She had no idea when his leg had gotten between hers. He releases a pleasure filled moan that scares her. Her entire body tenses. Her panic spurred her to fight against him again, but she didn’t want to turn him on even more and create an even worse situation for herself. She nervously licks her bottom lip. She noticed his eyes watching her tongue’s every move. His face was clearly filled with lust, but his eyes are clear of any emotion.

That simple thought scared her even more. She refrains from licking her lips again. He lets out a chuckle and leans back in to run his tongue along the puncture wounds in her neck again. She flinches from the feeling. She just needed to finish his game as fast as possible. The youngest looking one she could think of was Kanato. She says as strong as she can. “Kanato?”

He chuckles, and her stomach instantly feels cold. She had clearly gotten it wrong. He was one point from winning. She didn’t want to ask any more questions. She didn’t have the confidence she had earlier. “Subaru.”

She could barely hear him. His teeth rake along her skin again, earning a jerk from her. It feels like a fog had finally lifted. This was her chance; his guard was completely down as far as she could tell. She could spray him in the face and run. She just needed to get him to look at her once more. She slowly moves one of her hands from his chest toward her pocket. It seems to gain his attention. She puts on the bravest face she can. She would have to come up with a trick question that would stump him long enough that she could get to her pocket. “What’s my favorite color?”

She flinches. She hadn’t thought that through very well. A cold smile spreads over his face. He lifts a hand to tuck some hair behind her ear. She notices that it’s on the same side as the hickey he gave her. He leans in till his lips are lightly pressing against the shell of her ear. “Purple.”

A thought occurs to her that leaves her cold. She could have lied to him and told him that he was wrong. She had let her shock and fear get the better of her and look at the mess she was in now. What if he was lying to her about his answers? She considers telling him that he is wrong, but she could already feel her body had tensed. He wouldn’t believe her. His voice suddenly becomes low and threatening. “Ready for your punishment?”

She isn’t even given time to answer. She wouldn’t have even if she was. For some reason, he pulls back, and she jumps at the chance. She pulls out the pepper spray, but one of his hands catches her hand right as she starts to spray. He harmlessly aims the stream toward the ground beside them. She tries to shake his hand off, since he kept her hand pressed down. The can was slowly emptying, much to her horror. His other arm just wraps tighter around her. She flinches when he pulls her lower half closer to his. His leg was still between her legs, and it only rides dangerously higher. She press hard against him. Thankfully, he doesn’t finish pulling her flush against him. “Tell me, do you like Kanato?”

She feels bewildered and confused. It just makes her thought process harder to sift through. She couldn’t figure out what Kanato had to do with anything. She blurts out. “What?”

He chuckles softly. Thankfully, he pulls his body way, though he doesn’t release her hand. She jerks on her arm, but it doesn’t come free. Her eyes drop to where he was holding her hand. It was like watching her hopes wither and die. The can starts to sputter until it eventually doesn’t produce anything more. Finally, he completely pulls away from her. She takes a step back. Her hands reach up to fix her bow only to find it gone. She can feel her eyes widen when she finds it hanging from between Laito’s fingers. He gives her a cruel, arrogant smirk. “Well, I’ve won!”

She feels irritation building though it doesn’t hold any weight against the dread she was feeling. She didn’t want to think about the consequences of the game or the punishment he had referred to. She knew that she couldn’t distract him, but she wasn’t ready to hear what would happen. She takes a few steps back. “What did you mean about Kanato?”

He tilts his head, pretending to look thoughtful for a moment. A heart stopping smile spreads over his face. He takes a few steps toward her. She simply continues to back away from him. His voice is cheerful. “Oh, I just thought if you wanted to play with him, I don’t mind sharing you. It’s so much fun to watch! I’m such a good brother to him.”

“I’m not yours,” Mai states as sternly as she could. She was feeling braver now that she was free from him. He makes a ‘tsk’ing sound.

“Poor, naive, little girl. Just accept your fate.”

She clenches her fists and gives him her best defiant look, which he returns with a loving look. She feels a shiver run down her spine. She notices movement out of the corner of her eye and turns her head to look without thinking. Her heart was starting to beat so loud that it seemed like it was drowning everything else out.

His laughter cuts through the pounding in her mind. She snaps her gaze to watch him. “I was right! Your face becomes so much more adorable when you are afraid!”

He wraps his arms around himself and gives a small shudder. Disgust fills her chest at his face morphing into pleasure. He releases a soft moaning sound. She feels something brush her back, but when she looks over her shoulder, there is nothing there. She quickly turns her back to find that Laito is gone as well.

“Come with me to my house tomorrow, sweetheart. That’s what I get for winning. I promise to make it lots of fun!”

His voice was coming from behind her, and she quickly spins to face him, only to find herself standing alone on the path with a racing heart. She slowly takes a step down the pathway when she hears a chuckle behind her. She spins back around to find Laito standing where he was before. He was holding her phone where she could see it. He gives her a playful wink. “Don’t tell your parents about your visit tomorrow, sweetheart!”

“Don’t call me that!” Mai snaps. She quickly adds. “I’m not going home with you. That’s just creepy.”

He tilts his head with a thoughtful look. “Ok.”

Her heart skips a beat. He was agreeing too easily. Every warning bell in her head told her that this wasn’t normal. His hand starts to slowly tighten around her phone. “Tell me something, sweetheart. Do you expect me to beg?”

She flinches at the cold undertone, though he was still wearing a smile. She decides not to answer him. He releases a sigh and turns his attention to the phone. An incredibly uncomfortable silence settles between the two of them. She narrows her eyes. It was like he was trying to draw her attention to her phone. She represses a scoff. There was no way she would agree to his demands to save her phone. Finally, he looks back at her and cheerfully says. “Fine, you don’t have to come over to my house. You can tell your parents. They won’t be that hard to kill off.”

A cold, shock washes over her. She can only stare at him. Her jaw had dropped, but she didn’t care if she looked stupid. A cheerful smile spreads over his face, though it just makes her feel colder. How can he talk about killing people like he was talking about the weather, especially her parents right in front of her? Her foot scrapes loudly across the ground when she drags it back a step, causing a chuckle to bubble up his throat. She flinches at the sound. Her voice is incredibly shaky when she says. “That’s the oldest play in the book. Threatening loved ones.”

His eyes gain a slight glow to them, driving her back another step. “There is a reason that it’s used so much. It works. Trust me, sweetheart, I have no problem killing humans, though it will break you a lot faster than I want to.”

She can only stare at him in utter disbelief. He gives her a playful wave and turns to start walking down the path away from her. “See you tomorrow!”

She flinches. This couldn’t be real could it? She watches his retreating back until he disappears from view. She’s not sure how long she stands there, but she finally manages to get her body to move. Maybe she should look into the vampire’s lore and see if there was a way she could truly fight back against him.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her body felt so heavy when she drags herself to class the next day. She had stayed up late looking on the internet. Information on vampires was all such a mess that she found it hard to tell what would work and what wouldn’t. She didn’t think that getting close to Laito to try a bunch of stuff that wouldn’t work would be a good idea. In fact, it might make her situation worse. She flops into her chair, letting her head fall onto her arms. Laito still had her phone, but she had no intentions of asking him for it. She had informed her parents this morning that her phone was stolen. They were going to report it on their way to work. She hears someone approaching her. She turns her head enough to peer up at the person. To her relief, it’s Yui. She gives Mai a friendly smile and says. “You look like Ayato.”

“Shut up.” That’s the only thing Mai could think about saying. She turns her face so that it’s buried in her arms again. She hadn’t been able to sleep, so she had came to school really early. She had been the only one in the room for a while, but it seemed like the Sakamakis and Yui came to school early too. She tried not to think about the fact that she was starting to regret meeting Yui. She reminded herself that Yui had been very nice to her, and it wasn’t really her fault that Laito had targeted her. It didn’t matter what Laito said. Yui sits next to her and quickly starts to inform her of what she had missed in class. Gratitude fills Mai at Yui’s attempt, but she just can’t seem to give it that much of her attention. She hears the chair behind her scrape. She moves to peek behind her. She couldn’t see Kanato through his teddy bear. She turns her head back into her arms. She had stupidly not told her parents about what Laito had said. The reason for that was she didn’t want to test Laito’s threat. When they had asked what happened to her phone, she had lied and said that she left it in the bathroom. When she went back to get it, it gone. She was now berating herself for not telling them. It wasn’t like Laito could spy on her. How would he know if she told her parents?

There was no way that she was going to his house either. She was determined to tell him no. Finally, Mai asks softly. “How do you do it?”

Yui pauses mid-word. Mai finally lifts her head to look at Yui, who was giving her a questioning look. Her eyes flick to Ayato, hoping Yui would silently catch on. She flinches when she realizes she really is mirroring his position. Yui glances at Ayato and back to Mai with a curious face. Mai turns her attention back to Yui. She straightens up. She opens her mouth to ask when her chair is lightly kicked. An arm wraps around her shoulders. She reaches up to grab the arm and pull on it. She feels cold lips press against her cheek. She jerks back toward Kanato’s desk, jarring it. Her elbow bumps something soft.

Everything goes quiet. Ayato’s eyes were open; Mai couldn’t see Laito to gauge his reaction. Yui’s eyes widen in slight horror, which caused a jolt of fear to run through Mai’s body. She shoves Laito’s arm away from herself. It strikes her as odd that he let her do it so easily. Mai realizes that she had bumped into Kanato’s teddy bear, and she had accidentally knocked it to the floor. Kanato’s head had dipped down. His hair was blocking his face, but his shoulders were shaking. Mai feels an overwhelming sense of guilt at the thought of him crying. Her eyes drop down to the teddy bear. It was obviously special to him, since she had never seen him without it. Mai reaches down to grab it. She wasn’t sure why, but she was worried it’d get dirty on the ground. Yui makes a strange whimpering noise, but Mai didn’t pay it much mind. Her hand closes around the teddy bear’s arm and she lifts it up. She quickly brushes it off and turns to offer it back to Kanato.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

He mutters something, but it was so low that she didn’t hear it. She hears Laito chuckling behind her. Something was wrong. She starts to gently set the teddy bear on Kanato’s desk when his hand connects painfully with the wrist holding the bear. She winces and involuntarily lets go. The bear bounces off the desk and once again falls to the floor. Yui reaches out to grab Mai, but they both flinch when Kanato slams his hands onto the desk in front him. A resounding crack rings through the classroom. He hadn’t broken the desk, but he had done a small amount of damage to the top of it. “Don’t touch her!”

Mai can only stare at the purple haired boy in bewilderment. He always threw her for a loop. She had no idea how to react to him, nor did she have any sort of idea of how he would react. His head snaps up. It was obvious that he had been crying. “How dare you! How dare you hit Teddy! How dare you touch him! You soiled him, you disgusting, horrible, stupid human!”

“I… I….” Mai tries to say, but Kanato’s hand lashes out. She leans back to dodge his hand, which only seemed to infuriate the boy further.

“Hold still, you insolent woman!” This time, he manages to get a hold of her hair when he lashes out. He gives it a violent jerk, causing involuntary tears to well up in her eyes.

“Hey, quit! It was an accident!” Mai frantically says. She reaches up to grab his wrist. Yui reaches forward to try to help her friend.

“Please, Kanato. Please calm down!” Yui begs. He turns his furious gaze on her, and she immediately steps away from him with a look of pure terror on her face. While he was distracted, Mai tried to quickly work his fingers out of her hair. Unfortunately, she doesn’t work fast enough. He jerks her forward. She ends up standing and leaning awkwardly over both her chair and his desk. Her hands rest on the cool desktop to keep herself as steady as she can. Laito lets out a playful whistle.

“A little more, Kanato, and I’m sure that we’ll see her underwear,” Laito seems to casually comment. “Hey, Ayato, wanna guess whether she has granny panties or sexy underwear?”

She can hear Ayato’s chuckle. “She’s a prude. I bet she has the worst looking underwear money can buy.”

Humiliation mixes with Mai’s pain and fear. Kanato’s face appears inches from hers, apparently ignoring his brothers’ comments. Instead of the loud screaming, his voice is deathly low. Mai’s not sure which is worse.

“How dare you hurt Teddy. What are you going to do to make it up to me?”

She literally draws a blank. She didn’t have enough money to even spark the interest of someone who’s dad was a politician. She didn’t know him well enough to know how to make it up to him. To be honestly, she didn’t want to. He roughly pulls on her hair after only waiting a few seconds. He does it again after only a second the next time. His face was becoming angrier and angrier with each tug. Mai reaches up to grab her hair to try to keep him from pulling it any more. It felt like he was about to rip a fistful out. Suddenly, he stops tugging on her hair. His voice is suddenly calm, causing her to feel even more on guard. “Give me some blood, then. Ayato has been hogging that stupid blonde woman.”

Mai doesn’t even get a chance to say anything. Her head is awkwardly jerked backward. Her eyes water continue to water. She can now see Laito smirking excitedly down at her. She sees Kanato moving toward her out of the corner of her eye. She does the first thing she can think of in such a desperate situation. She slams a hand over Kanato’s mouth. He looks slightly startled at her gesture. Anger fills his face once more. He reaches up with his free hand to grab hers and jerk it down to the desk. She flinches as pain races up her arm, but she doesn’t miss a beat. She uses her other hand to put against his forehead and push him backward as hard as she can.

He releases an inhuman sounding growl, which causes her to shiver in fear, but she doesn’t release her hold on his forehead. The second he lets go of her wrist, she lifts it to cover his mouth again and push harder. She’s faintly aware of the fact that Laito is laughing. Kanato’s eyes seem to fix on something, and his eyes narrow a little. His hand relaxes in her hair, which comes as a great relief. His infuriated gaze lands on something behind her. He completely releases her hair. She doesn’t hesitate to quickly move away from the crazy, purple haired vampire. There was no way that she was staying in the classroom.

A hand slams the door shut when she tries to open it. She feels a cold hand grab her shoulder and forcibly turn her around. Laito playfully pushes her back toward the room. “Now, now. Don’t give me that look, Kanato. She’s not a bride, so she’s free game. You’ve been in class with her how long? If you are so upset about it, why do you give her a taste? I don’t mind!”

Mai casts a glare back at Laito. “I’m not yours.”

He just casts her a flirtatious wink. Kanato’s voice draws her attention back to him. He had moved closer. He looked completely calm and had a hold of Teddy once more. “It’s so unfair that you and Ayato bully me. I never get to take the first bite.”

She feels Laito give her another nudge toward Kanato. “Try her.”

“Who wants your sloppy seconds?”

Mai feels instant relief, despite the fact that Kanato had technically insulted her. Laito pushes on her once again. He lets out a chuckle and says. “Are you afraid that she’s going to cover your mouth again?”

She feels her heart starting to race. It felt almost like Laito was egging the purple haired vampire to bite her. The thought sent a chill down her spine. Why would he do something like that? She jumps when the classroom door opens, hitting Laito. Mai takes this chance to step around Kanato and bolt to her seat. A male student pokes his head in and apologizes to Laito, who just laughs it off. Laito glances back at Mai, giving her another flirtatious wink and leaves. Mai sinks back into her chair. The classroom was filling up slowly, so she was starting to feel safe once again. She leans forward on her desk and closes her eyes.

“I’m sorry.” Yui whispers. Mai flinches at the sound of Kanato returning to his seat. He was muttering something to his teddy bear, but the noise of the class had drowned him out. Mai makes a mental note to avoid any further interactions with him in the future. She turns her head to offer Yui a smile.

“Don’t worry about it. It isn’t like you were the one who started it.” Yui gives her a sad smile, but she nods her understanding. Mai turns to bury her face in her arms again. Today was going to be a long day.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time seems to both fly and drag by at the same time. She was dreading having to dodge Laito to run home, but she knew it wouldn’t be easy. He had been hanging around her all day long. He had appeared between her classes to walk near her. He had appeared to sit by her and Yui at lunch, making it incredibly uncomfortable. It was only made worse since he had started to pick food off Mai’s tray until she got frustrated and shoved it at him. She was still livid about that. 

She had managed slipped out of her last class ten minutes early. She had used the excuse that she had a ‘female issue’, and the male teacher hadn’t wanted to know any more. He had simply shooed her out. She figured her best chance to get away was to leave school before everyone else was let out. This way, he would still be in class.

She flinches since it seemed like her footsteps were echoing loudly in the hallway. She finally makes it to the front door and pushes it open. She casts a cautious glance around, just to make sure that Laito wasn’t lurking somewhere. She starts down the stairs. Her hand covers her mouth to stifle a yawn. It looked like she was going to be free from Laito for the rest of the night. Her hand drops to her side. She freezes when she sees movement out of the corner of her eye. She quickly turns to look, and her heart stops. Laito was leaning against the wall. His hand was fiddling with the rim of his fedora. He had a playful gleam in his eyes that set every warning bell in her head off. Cold dread fills her stomach.

“Nope.” She’s not sure why she said that, but she spins on her heel and starts back up the stairs toward the school. She would go hide in the nurse’s office until she was kicked out. She picks up her pace to try to make it to the door before he makes it to her. Unfortunately, his arm wraps around her shoulders. The side of his body was lightly pressing against the side of hers. Without giving herself time to panic, she slams her elbow into him. Luckily, she manages to hit his diaphragm, which is what she was aiming for. She hears a rush of air from him. She quickly shoves his arm off of her shoulder and bolts up the stairs. Just when she thinks she’s free, her body is jerked backwards by the strap on her book bag. Her heart feels like it’s stopping completely as adrenaline rushes through her veins. She reaches out to try to grab something to stop her fall, but there doesn’t seem to be anything within reach.

Her back collides with something, halting her fall. She already knew what that something was, but she didn’t want to look back at him. His hands seize her shoulders, and she feels him lean down. His breath causes her hair to tickle the skin of her ear, neck, and cheek when he says playfully. “Saved you.”

She immediately pulls herself away and turns to glare at him. She was positive that she had felt his hand grabbing the strap of her book bag just before she fell. She tries to put as much force into saying. “How old are you? Three? Teenagers don’t say stuff like that, besides it was you who pulled me off balance!”

He just chuckles at her. She takes a step back. She shouldn’t have turned her back on him in the first place. She reaches out hoping to grab the door handle. He gives her a flirtatious smirk. Without truly thinking about it, she jerks her body backward until her back hits the door to the school. He tilts his head a little. His voice is low, but clearly playful, when he asks, “are you so excited to go to my house that you are skipping out on school early?”

“I’m not going to your house,” Mai stubbornly states. “Leave me alone.”

He starts to chuckle, which turns into almost cold sounding laughter. “Sweetheart, you lost the game. You have to come over.”

“You’ll do something creepy. Or worse yet, you’ll do something gross.” Mai says. She grabs the handle for the door, but she doesn’t open it yet. She wasn’t sure if he would reach out and stop her. A smile spreads over his face. Once again, she feels that something is really wrong. The faint sound of the bell ringing makes her heart race. She glances over her shoulder at the door. She didn’t have long before the first students had made their way out of the school in a rush. Reluctantly, she makes her way down a couple of steps. She steps to the far side of the stairs to avoid being trampled. Her eyes lock with vivid green ones. A thought occurs to her that seemed like an incredible stroke of luck. In moments, there would be a flood of students who could help her disappear.

She tries not to tense when he slowly moves over to her side. She could feel her heart racing and drops her gaze to the concrete at her feet. She confidently tells herself that it wouldn’t matter if he was standing right next to her. She was determined not to go home with him. It felt like everything around her had finally calmed. He leans against the railing and begins to silently run his fingers along the rim of his fedora. The doors burst open, and some students jog down the stairs. She tries to keep her body relaxed. It wouldn’t be a good idea to jump the gun. She’d wait for the second wave when there were more students. She makes the mistake of glancing at Laito. He wasn’t watching her or the students. He was looking up at the night sky. He was wearing a playful smile. It sent a jolt through her that he probably suspected that she was about to bolt.

Her chance appears, and she takes it. She plunges into the wave of students, trying to get as far away from Laito as possible. She ignores the disgruntled comments directed at her by those around her while she moves quickly through the crowd.

She was passing a limo that she had seen parked outside the school from time to time. A hand catches her upper arm, pulling her off balance for the second time that night. It was almost too late when she saw the door to the car was open. She lifts a foot and slams it on the bottom of car. She throws her weight backwards and straightens her leg to brace herself. She says loudly. “I told you no!”

Her hope is that if she makes a scene, Laito won’t be able to force her into the car. She knew it had to be him. Her hope works when the students start to slow and turn their attention to her. It doesn’t seem to bother the red head though as she feels another rough shove from behind, but she stubbornly presses back.

“No!”

Whispers were spreading amongst the students. Mai attempts to twist her body, but two arms wrap around her from behind. She opens her mouth to cry out for help when a cold, calm voice cuts through all the noise. “Laito, enough of this. You are making a scene.”

Mai tries to twist her head to see who her savior is, but all she gets is a face full of the fur lining Laito’s uniform. She sputters and wiggles again, and, to her complete relief, Laito seems to let her slip away from his grip. She doesn’t hesitate, or try to look and see who had saved her. She just quickly bolts for the gates. She was going to get as far from Laito as she could. There was no way that she was going to go to his house.

She never once looks back. She had managed to finally get away from him, and she was determined to keep it that way.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This turned out way longer than I expected. :/ I started writing and couldn't find a good spot to break off of! I hope you guys enjoy it. Thank you for reading! :D

She had talked to her parents before they left about Laito’s threat, and they had agreed to let her remain home while they figured something out. They would periodically call her to let her know that they were ok. It was nearing the end of the week, and, thankfully, only Yui had dropped by. In fact, Yui had stopped Mai’s house for an hour or two every day. The two had enjoyed themselves doing various, normal human things like watching movies and gossiping about fellow students. Mai was finally starting to relax. Nothing had happened to her or her parents, which came as a huge relief. She was finally starting to sleep good again.

It was Friday and closing in on eight a.m. in the morning. Yui still hadn’t shown up. Mai had said bye to her parents about an hour ago and was now stuck sitting alone. She was trying to fight the disappointment that was threatening to overtake her. Netflix didn’t seem to have anything remotely interesting on it. She settles for just turning the tv off. She’d find a book to read instead. She hears a knock on the door and quickly jumps up. She still cautiously stared out the window for a few minutes before she would cautiously open the door. Yui smiles at her tiredly.

“I can’t stay long. I had to give Ayato the slip.” Her face was frighteningly pale. Mai opens the door all the way and gestures for Yui to enter, but her friend just tiredly shakes her head. “If Ayato shows up, he won’t just kindly open the door. He’s…..”

“Yui, you need to sit down. You look like you are about to collapse!” Mai hates the desperation in her own voice. Yui stubbornly shakes her head. She gives Mai a frightened look that sets Mai’s nerves on edge.

“Are your parents home?” Yui asks, sounding slightly frantic. Mai slowly shakes her head. Her heart was starting to beat wildly. She had gotten a new phone already, and she had told her parents most of what had happened with Laito. She was too embarrassed to tell them about the park though. Yui looks relieved for a moment, before she looks frantic all over again. “Mai, you have got to be careful! They aren’t… Just….. You have to be careful. Laito is……”

She closes her eyes, and Mai reaches out again, in case she were to tip over. Luckily, she doesn’t collapse. “I have to go. Please just… Be careful. You should try to get a hold of your parents and ask them to come home. I think he’s planning to do something to you. He’s been… so quiet.”

She turns and starts to walk away. Mai stares at her back, completely dumbfounded. She takes a step out and calls out for Yui, but she doesn’t look back. Instead, she seems to pick up her pace. Mai’s heart is racing when she returns and locks the door to her house. She would have to go around the house and lock all of the windows. She pulls out her new phone to call her parents. Her hand reaches out to grab the bat she now kept by the door when her parents left.

Her phone rings and rings before going to voicemail for both of her parents. She closes her eyes, trying to tell herself that they had only been at work for an hour. There was no way they could check their phones that soon. Mai jumps when she hears a slight banging upstairs. Her eyes raise and remain locked with the ceiling in the direction of the banging, but she doesn’t move from the door. Her heart stops with every single bang, then races with each wave of adrenaline. She presses against the door even harder. All of a sudden, everything goes eerily quiet. She swallows hard. She had to get out of the house. Nothing good happened when things got quiet, and there was no way in hell she was going to go investigate. Slowly, she opens the door. She was trying to be silent, so she didn’t alert whatever was making the noise to her presence. She’d leave until her parents got off work. She could window shop until then.

She manages to slip out just as the banging starts up again. She quietly shuts the door before she uses her keys to lock the door knob and the dead bolt. She turns only to jump and let out a scream when Laito’s flirtatious smirk seems to appear inches from her face. He straightens up to laugh. “Screaming for me already? I haven’t even started yet.”

She settles a glare on him and attempts to sidestep him, but he just moves his body until he’s in her way once more. She lets out a frustrated sigh. She keeps her glare on him and asks, “What?”

He takes a step toward her, but she stubbornly holds her ground. He tilts his head and reaches up to grab the tip of his fedora. “You still owe me, Sweetheart. I won our game.”

“I don’t owe you anything,” she practically growls at him. She considers glancing back at the door, but she didn’t dare take her eyes off of the visible threat for an invisible one trapped behind a door. He simply gives her a playful smirk. She realizes that the sun was actually up, and he was outside. She lets out a slightly disappointed sigh. Her gaze drops to the ground between them. It looked like some of the information was in fact wrong. She flinches when something cold brushes her cheek. She quickly snaps her gaze back up to see him playfully narrowing his eyes. His hand was now pressed against the door next to her head. He leans in close to her. She reaches up to put her hand on his face, but he catches her wrist with a smirk. Without missing a beat, she says, “People will see you know.”

“So? Let them watch. It’s more fun with an audience anyway.”

She can’t help but stare at him in stunned silence for a moment. She was hoping that he’d back off if she used the fact that they were clearly in the public’s eye. She uses her other arm to push on his chest. “You’re sick.”

He lets out a low chuckle and keeps his face inches from hers. She resists the urge to turn her face away. The last thing she wanted was him saying that she was offering her neck up for him to bite. He mutters softly. “They will just think we are teenagers in love. Isn’t that great?”

“We’re not. I don’t even like you. You are a pest!” She snaps at him. She knew now from experience that he wouldn’t give up even if she was hostile toward him.

“Well, I love you.” He has a lustful hint to his words. Mai can’t help but roll her eyes. She decides to try something different.

“Please give me my space.” She watches his face for any evidence that it was working. Instead of being bewildered like she hoped, he looked even more amused. In fact, he leans a little closer. Mai clenches her teeth tightly, trying to control her panic.

“What do I get from doing as you ask?”

She feels her irritation mounting, almost over taking her panic. Without thinking it through, she snaps. “How about you don’t get a knee to your balls?”

He clicks his tongue. “Now, now, sweetheart. That’s not how you ask a favor! You say ‘oh please, Lord Laito, give me my space’. Come on. Give it a try.”

Mai finds herself speechless. The only thing she could do was stare at him. He seemed to be waiting patiently. There was no way that she was ever going to say that, especially not to Laito. She tries to not give any indication of what she was going to do. She slowly moves her leg to knee him between the legs. In doing so, she had moved her body a few inches from the door. A frown flashes over his face. Her heart skips a beat when a cold look enters his eyes. He suddenly shoves his body against hers. His shoulder catches her chin just right, snapping her head back. She is faintly aware of the sickening noise her head makes when it hits the door. She instantly feels sick to her stomach. Her body feels weak, and she involuntarily sags against Laito. She knows that losing consciousness isn’t an option, so she fights her hardest to keep her thoughts coherent, but it was getting harder and harder.

She vaguely aware of the fact that she is leaning into him. Her hands are gripping the front of his uniform, and her forehead was resting against his collarbone. His hands were on her hips, seeming to easily support her weight. She was faintly aware of him practically cooing. “Oh, you stupid human. Look what you’ve done to yourself. Don’t worry, though. I’ve got you.”

She closes her eyes and instantly regrets it. She could feel the bile rising up her throat. Her head was throbbing painfully. She feels her body dry heave before she finally throws up. She hears an irritated sigh. She forces her eyes open. The smell was overpowering, and the only thing she could see was her own half digested breakfast and his uniform. She releases a groan. She was about to lose her struggle with consciousness.

____________________________________________________________________________

She had never been so comfortable. She didn’t dare open her eyes to see where she was though. She was worried that if she did open her eyes she’d feel sick again. She could clearly remember had happened that morning, and her head was aching horribly. She decides to take a chance and roll onto her side, but the simple movement causes the pain to erupt throughout her skull. She sucks in a breath, trying to fight the nausea. She feels a hand touch her and involuntarily flinches away. Her eyes snap open. She presses a hand to mouth to keep from throwing up. She was in a place she didn’t recognize. It had an overwhelming amount of pink and purple. Aside from the pink, the first thing she sees is Yui’s worried face. She leans closer Mai, who relaxes back against the bed.

Despite being so pink, the bed was insanely huge compared to her full sized bed. It was also the most comfortable bed Mai ever had the pleasure of sitting on. It felt like she was lying on a bed of feathers. It almost lulls her back to sleep. Yui seems intent on keeping her awake though. “Hey, you need to take something to help with your pain.”

Mai flinches. It felt like Yui had basically yelled right in her ear. Yui gives her an apologetic look, but she insistently holds out a glass of water and some sort of medicine. Mai eyes it warily. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Yui, she just had no idea where she was. It didn’t feel right to take whatever medicine was offered to her. Yui simply moves her hands closer to Mai. She mutters softly. “It’s just aspirin.”

Mai could see a slightly hurt look on her face, so she reluctantly takes the medicine. She manages to somehow finish the water. That’s when she realizes that her hair was slightly damp and her clothes had changed. Instead of a pair of sweats and a baggy t-shirt, she was in loose, black shorts and a loose, cream colored tank top. She sits up abruptly. Panic wells up in her chest. The last thing she remembered was Laito’s voice promising that he had her. The thought of him bathing and changing her made her shudder. She wraps her arms around her body feeling incredibly violated.

The whole room spins violently, causing her to sway. She somehow manages to stay sat up. She mutters softly. “What… happened?”

Yui tries to gently push her backward, but Mai resists. Yui finally gives up. Her voice is really low when she says, “well, Laito brought you home. All he said was that you had hit the back of your head hard. You were both covered in…. Well….. It looked like you had vomited on him.”

Despite the situation, both girls end up snickering about that detail. Laughing makes her head throb, so hers is short lived. Yui continues once hers has died down. “Well, luckily Reiji was there. He called for a doctor to come look at you. It looked like Laito was going to cart you off to his room, but I managed to get the doctor to bring you here. We ended up having to bath you. Don’t worry though. I was there to make sure nothing happened.”

Mai didn’t have the heart to tell Yui that her statement didn’t make her feel any better. Her skin still felt like it was crawling. Who knew what Laito had done to her after she had passed out. Besides, she had never seen this doctor, but he had seen more of her than anyone had a right to. She swallows hard and manages to hoarsely ask. “I.. um…. Why didn’t I get taken to the hospital? What about my parents? Do they know where I am?”

Yui flinches. She slowly shrugs and says, “I’m not sure, but the doctor said that you’d be ok. You probably have a concussion. I called your parents and told them that you were at a friend’s house. I didn’t get to talk to them long. I’m sorry.”

"Yui, I want to go home." Mai says softly. She wanted to believe that her parents were ok because Yui had talked to them, but it wasn't the same as talking to them herself. She reluctantly pushes the worry out of her mind. She had enough to worry about right now. It would just cause her problems to focus on that. Yui didn't have a reason to lie to her, after all.

“Ok. But first, I think you should eat something,” Yui says gently. Mai starts to shake her head, but it sends a wave of nausea crashing over her. She leans forward. She honestly didn’t think that she could stomach anything, and Laito was much closer than she was comfortable with him being. She grits her teeth. How had he gotten what he wanted?

It takes a while, but the aspirin finally starts working. She’s able to stand on her own and walk around Yui’s room, which she found overly huge. It had a balcony and a fireplace. In fact, she was sure that half of her house could fit inside that single room. The pain was still bouncing off her skull, but she hadn’t felt any cuts or anything when she had reached back there to gently probe at the sore spot. Yui hadn’t approved of Mai doing it, and she had continuously asked Mai not to harm herself further. Finally, Mai gives into Yui’s harassment and promises to eat. She follows her out into a lavishly decorated hallway. A creepy feeling settles over her body. She felt like she was being watch, but it didn’t matter where she glanced, she couldn’t see anything.

Whatever was watching her could probably see her slowly turning her head, since it still made her sick to move too quickly. They seem to pass door after door. They finally arrive at a large staircase that wraps around into what appears to be a living room. It was just as lavishly decorated with fancy, antique looking couches. From her vantage point, she could see Shuu laying on his back on one of the couches. He was wearing a blue sweater instead of the school uniform, but his pants were dark. His arm was laid across his face, hiding it from view. Her body stiffens, despite the fact that she had never actually talked to him. He hadn’t done anything to her, but it didn’t mean that he wouldn’t. She feels Yui touch her forearm.

She jumps at the touch and turns her attention to her friend, who gives her a small smile. Mai glances back to see that Shuu hadn’t moved an inch. She decided that she would just stay away from him. She tries to remain silent while she walks down the stairs with Yui. It wouldn’t be good to make a bunch of noise and alert him to her presence, though she was sure that he was already aware that she was in the house. She mentally berates herself for falling into such a stupid trap. She should have just gone back into her house to face whatever was making that banging noise.

Thankfully, they don’t meet anyone else on their way to the kitchen. Slowly, she can smell something absolutely delicious. Despite feeling nauseous, her mouth waters, and her stomach growls. Yui’s footsteps slow, which causes Mai to feel panic swelling. Yui gives her a nervous smile. “It’s not the right time of month for the family dinner, so I don’t know why he is cooking.”

Mai slows to a stop. Yui takes a few more steps before she finally stops. She looks back at Mai curiously. Mai was trying to figure everything out. “What do you mean by family dinners?”

Yui offers her a smile, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Once a month, the brothers gather together to eat dinner. It’s required by their father.”

Mai instantly feels bad for Yui. “Do you….?”

Yui nods. Mai’s imagination runs wild with this information. Despite her knowing that it probably wasn’t possible, she couldn’t help but think that Yui was probably the ‘meal’ that they ate at dinner. It was more likely that it was some other poor innocent soul. “That sounds…. Horrible.”

Yui flinches, which just further cements Mai’s ideas in her mind. She tries to sound optimistic “It’s not all bad. Reiji is actually a very good cook.”

Mai flinches once more. That just made her thoughts worse. It was obviously some poor soul that was cooked for dinner. “That’s…. Like….”

How was she supposed to ask Yui if she was a cannibal without insulting her? The mouthwatering smell wasn’t so appetizing now. Yui seems to misunderstand why Mai is looking sick to her stomach. She reaches out to put a hand to Mai’s forehead. Mai barely manages to not flinch away. She offers Yui a strained smile. “They don’t like… I know that vampires drink blood, but they don’t……. I mean I’ve seen Kanato and Laito eat food, but…..”

Yui’s eyes furrow for a moment. “They can eat normal human food. They just need blood to survive.”

Relief rushes over Mai. “So, they eat like normal human food?”

Yui slowly nods, still regarding Mai curiously. “What did you think I meant?”

“Well….. I thought…….” She couldn’t find the words. She finally just lifts her hand as if to wave Yui’s question away. “What I thought isn’t important. I think I’ll try eating now, so I can go home. This place is creepy.”

Yui stands there for a moment, and Mai is worried that she will ask again. Thankfully, she doesn’t; she just continues to lead the way to the kitchen. The closer they get, the better the air seems to smell. Yui finally stops and pokes her head around the corner. Mai feels warning bells going off. She slowly steps up to peek around Yui and the corner. The kitchen was huge, and the delicious smell of roasting meat mixes pleasantly with a variety of other smells. She could see a male moving with unnatural grace. Every single one of his movements looked natural and practiced. He had what looked like black hair. It wasn’t overly long, but it wasn’t short either. He was wearing what appeared to be a grey suit without the actual jacket. She couldn’t figure out why he would cook in such nice clothes, though, from what she could see of the pots, everything look absurdly clean for someone who was cooking.

Yui pulls back, which prompts Mai to do the same thing. Yui whispers. “That’s Reiji.”

Mai peeks once more before she moves away from the corner. She found herself liking Reiji. It seemed like he was so much smarter than Laito, since he at least had the sense to call a doctor to have her head checked out. That was automatic points in her book, even though he was related to Laito. Something had been bothering her for a while. None of the brothers, aside from Laito and Ayato, looked very much alike. She pushes the thought from her mind. She didn’t plan to spend much time around the Sakamakis, so she figured that she didn’t need to know.

“It’s rude to lurk.”

Yui and Mai jump at the sound of the cold voice. It sounded familiar to Mai. It takes a moment to remember it, due to the pain still muddling her thoughts. It was the person who saved her from Laito when he was trying to shove her into the limo. Yui sheepishly steps around into the kitchen. Mai quickly follows suit. The dark haired vampire didn’t turn around to even acknowledge them for a moment. When he finally turns, he is holding two plates. Mai’s mouth waters at the sight of steak, glazed carrots, and a few other things that her eyes had simply glazed over the top of. The steak held most of her attention.

He doesn’t say a word. Instead, he leads the way to a different room. It was just as big as all the other rooms that she had seen. It had a large, uncomfortable looking dining table set in the very center of the room. He sets the plates down across from each other. They were towards the middle of the table. Mai slowly makes her way toward the food. 

“Thank you f-”

“You are not going to introduce yourself?” Reiji coldly asks. Mai jerks and turns her attention toward him. He was frowning coldly at her. It startles her to see that he has red eyes and glasses. She briefly wonders if he had bad eyesight. She licks her lips.

“Oh, sorry. My name is Mai. Thank you for calling for the doctor. Also, thank you for the food.” His frown doesn’t disappear, causing Mai to worry if she had said something wrong.

“Your thanks is not required. I was doing nothing more than what would be expected of this household. You are a guest here.”

Mai opens her mouth, completely stunned by how cold he sounded. She stupidly says. “Oh.”

He makes a scoffing sound. He gives her a slight bow and says. “You are welcome to remain in the Sakamaki house until the doctor releases you to return home.”

Panic settles in the pit of her stomach at the thought of staying past the meal. She slowly starts to shake her head. “Oh, no. I can’t stay. I plan to leave after eating.”

His red gaze locks onto her, making her feel incredibly small. She has to remind herself not to cower down. She decided that Reiji was probably the scariest one she had met so far. His voice doesn’t change, but she couldn’t help but feel stupid when he says. “It is very rude to eat and leave immediately after, especially after we have expended money on your account and provided you with food without asking for anything in return.”

“It was Laito’s fault.” She mutters under her breath. She flinches when she hears a sigh come from him.

“You certainly are mannerless. No wonder the two of you are friends. Despicable that we went to the trouble to help you.”

She can only stare at him. She had no idea what to say to that. His cold, red eyes never leave hers. It was like he was daring her continue to defy him. She could almost see the family resemblance between him and Laito now. They were both cold, rude, and had a better than thou attitude. She licks her lips again. “My parents will be worried.”

“Your parents have already been informed of your whereabouts.”

That seems like news to Yui. She sucks in a surprised breath. Mai doesn’t glance her way though. She remains focused on Reiji.

“And they are ok with it?” Mai couldn’t believe that her parents would just let her stay at a stranger’s house after everything that had happened recently.

“It doesn’t matter whether they approve or not. The doctor said that you needed rest.”

He bows, turns and leaves without waiting for another response. Mai lets out a soft breath of disbelief. She glances at Yui, who offers a small, sad smile. Frustration builds in Mai’s chest, and she says, “I’m not staying here!”

Yui flinches. “Let’s at least eat a little bit. The last thing you want to do is upset Reiji by not eating his food. I don’t think he’s very happy with you, anyway.”

“Well, he can go…” She stops her rant when she sees the pleading look on Yui’s face. Her eyes move to look at the food. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to eat a little bit. The food did look and smell delicious. Her stomach growls again. She cautiously asks. “Do you think it’s poisoned?”

Yui lets out a sad chuckle and moves to sit down. She immediately starts eating. With a sigh, Mai joins her.

It was even better than it looked. In fact, it was the best food that Mai had ever eaten. It surprised her that a vampire knew how to cook so good. She ends up eating it all. Yui laughs at how eager about the food that Mai had become. “I told you that he cooked good.”

Mai casts her a playful glare. She sits back in the uncomfortable chair. “Oh my god, if he had a better attitude, he’d be the perfect man. He’s not bad looking, and he can cook.”

Yui has to stifle a laugh behind her hand. Mai lets out a chuckle. It surprisingly felt good to eat, and it felt like her nausea was slowly ebbing away. The pain was still there, and she couldn’t make fast movements. Yui says, “he doesn’t cook everyday.”

Mai groans. “I’d pay top dollar to eat his cooking every day.”

“Ahhhhh, are you trying to make me jealous, sweetheart?”

Mai’s good mood drops immediately, and she leaps to her feet. Laito had seemed to appear in the chair next to her. He was propping his chin up with his hand. He gives her a flirtatious smirk. This was the first time that she hadn’t seen him in his school uniform. He was wearing a striped shirt with a blue hoodie. He still had his hat on. Mai backs up so that her chair is between herself and Laito. Her head gives a painful throb at all the movements she was doing. The food sits heavy for a moment, but it finally settles. She wants to yell at him, or do anything really, but she finds herself simple staring at him in silent anger.

“Ah, don’t look at me like that. I helped you.” He playfully says.

“You caused it,” Mai says softly. She tried to put as much anger in her words as she could. He gives her a feigned look of shock which is followed by a hurt look. Her stomach twists in disgust.

“I would never hurt someone I loved,” Laito says. His voice had a hurt edge to it, but Mai wasn’t going to let him fool her. She knew that he wasn’t hurt at all. This was just a game to him. She decides to not answer; she settles for glaring instead. He lets out a sigh. “And here you threw up on me. I thought that brought us closer.”

“That’s disgusting.” Mai seeths. She was clenching her fists so hard that she could feel her nails digging into the skin of her palms. He gives her a playful smirk. He turns his gaze toward Yui, who flinches. Mai’s heart skips a beat. He wouldn’t hurt Yui, would he? A distrubing thought suddenly occurs to her. He hadn’t hurt Yui before, had he? It made her feel sick. She had known where Yui was staying, but it was different to see the very house she shared with six boys. She glances at Yui, who was poking at her food. Had she been hurt in more ways than what was visible? There was so much that they could do to her without adult supervision.

She feels herself being watched and turns her furious gaze back on Laito. She wouldn’t put it past him to hurt Yui. He gives her a suggestive smirk. It was like he knew what she was thinking.

“You know it gets awful lonely here with just men to hang around with,” Laito says. His voice is full of suggestion. Mai reaches out to steady herself on the table. She turns her attention to Yui, who gives Mai a nervous look. This was all too much. Feigned concern fills Laito’s voice. “Sweetheart, you look like you are going to be sick.”

Yui abruptly stands up and starts around the table. “Mai, do you want to go lay down?”

Mai desperately shakes her head. Bile raises in her throat at the action. She tries to settle a glare on Laito, but he was watching her with a smug look on his face. A jolt of fear runs through her body. It was like he was getting exactly what he wanted. She didn’t want to lay down in their house at all. She didn’t feel safe. This was his territory. She had no idea of the lay out, or even how to leave. The place was overly large from what she could tell. She feels Yui’s hands coming out to seize her arm. She wants nothing more than to shake her off, but she refrains from doing so. Yui was her only friend in this place. “I want to go home, Yui.”

Laito makes a humming noise in the back of his throat. A cruel smile had taken over his face. His eyes never once leave Mai.

Yui gives her an understanding look. She nods. “Come on, Mai. You need to go lay down. I’ll use the phone in the foyer to call you a cab.”

“You mean the phone that doesn’t work?” Laito says. He was feigning an uninterested tone. Mai can only stare at him. Her head gives a painful throb. She would use her phone to call her parents.

With a cold feeling, she realizes that she had no idea where the house was located. She could feel Yui stepping closer to her. Mai found comfort in the heat that Yui produced. It struck her hard that she now understood why Yui didn’t seem to want her to leave. She’d be alone with these boys all over again. She’d be at their mercy. She almost glances in Yui’s direction, but Laito was moving, so she remains focused on him.

His eyes seem to glow for a moment. He opens his mouth a little, showing her the tips of his fangs when he makes a show of exhaling. A shiver runs down her spine. He gives her a cruelly playful smile. She couldn’t tear her eyes from his. She whispers softly. “Hey, Yui. Can you walk me home?”

Laito doesn’t give Yui a chance to say anything. “You know, Ayato’s a possessive person. I’m not sure why he’s tolerated you as long as he has. Normally, he’d have already run off any friends the bride could make.”

Mai flinches. She had heard that term before, but she hadn’t thought to ask Yui about it. Honestly, she had forgotten about it. “What do you mean by bride?”

He chuckles and gives Mai a wink. “Oh, it appears I said too much. The rest is a secret. Right, Little Bitch?”

Mai could feel Yui twitch against her. It made her feel sick all over again. Something was very wrong with what was happening in the house. She could just feel it. She presses back against Yui, trying to silently tell her to move, but the girl stubbornly just leans into Mai. Maybe she had misread Mai’s silent gesture. Laito’s voice is low and playful when he says. “You aren’t a bride though, so I’d be a little more careful around the house, Sweetheart. Only Reiji will treat you with hospitality, and even he will only extend it so far.”

A numb feeling spreads over her body. This was why she hadn’t wanted to go to his house. It was too dangerous to be there. She feels a tug on her arm. She turns her attention to Yui, who mutters. “I think you should go lay down.”

Mai can’t find it in herself to argue. She just numbly nods and allows Yui to quickly pull her from the dining room. Laito’s eerie chuckle echos after them. She notices that Shuu was watching them when they pass through the living room, but it doesn’t register in her mind. She just kept playing Laito’s words over and over. Mai turns her attention to trying her hardest to figure a way out of this situation, but her thoughts turned to Yui. She hadn’t seen anything strange about the girl, but the harder she thought, the more she realized that the girl had slowly started to lose her actual smile. She hadn’t been as happy as she had been when Mai had first met her. Guilt swims over Mai, though she didn’t think she could do anything to actually help Yui. They somehow make it back to her room. Mai numbly walks over to sit down on the bed. She stares at her feet. “I’m sorry.”

Yui silently sits next to Mai. She slowly starts to shake her head and cheerfully says, “It’s not that bad here. I get to eat good food, and the room is huge.”

Mai flinches. That sounded so forced now that she thought about it. “Yui, you can come to my house. It’ll be so much better and…”

She had looked up to see Yui shaking her head. She doesn’t get a chance to ask why. Yui turns her attention to her hands that are balled in her lap. “I actually only really interact with Ayato. He chases Laito off, and I don’t think the others are really interested in dealing with him.”

“Yui, this…. This isn’t normal. Ayato isn’t protecting you!”

Yui just seems to ignore Mai. “I miss my dad, but he’s busy, so I have to stay strong.”

Mai can only stare at Yui. She felt so bad for her. “Yui, have they…. Like…….”

Yui lifts her gaze off her lap to look at Mai curiously. “Have they what?”

Mai bites her bottom lip lightly. “Ummmm…. Well…”

She considers making a gesture to imply sex, but she didn’t think that Yui would catch on to that. She didn’t seem to really know a lot of things other than what she was taught in school and her religion. Mai flinches. It must have been a culture shock for Yui to end up in a place like this. Laito was hard enough to deal with on his own. Mai couldn’t imagine dealing with all six. Yui claimed that Ayato protected her, but Mai had a sneaking doubt that he didn’t do anything of the sort. Yui hops up and turns to smile at Mai. “How about you lay down?”

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to sleep if I had a concussion,” Mai says softly. She had to get out of here. She had to get home. She’d tell her parents about what was happening with Yui, and she’d see if they could help her get Yui out of the Sakamaki’s grip. If they couldn’t, Mai would figure something out on her own. Yui gives her a smile.

“Don’t worry. I think you will be fine. They say that sleeping heals the body.” Mai shakes her head at that statement.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It hadn’t been long before the door is abruptly opened. “Hey, breastless, I’m h-”

Mai was sitting in the center of the bed reading a book that Yui had gotten from somewhere. Yui herself was sitting at the desk, working on homework. Ayato gives Mai a suspicious look, but he turns his gaze onto Yui. She gives him a frustrated look. “Can’t you come back later? I’m trying to finish my homework.”

He scoffs and shuts the door and makes his way toward Yui. He seemed to be ignoring the glare that Mai was giving him. She didn’t trust the fact that he had shut the door. It struck her suddenly that it wouldn’t matter if it was open or not. There were nothing but teenagers in the large house. There was no adult supervision, so nothing would stop Ayato from doing something to Yui. The thought sent a shiver down Mai’s spine. Ayato makes a scoffing sound, which draws Mai’s attention back to him.

“Get out,” Ayato practically demands. She wasn’t sure when he had turned his attention to her, but he was glaring coldly at her. Mai feels her anger spark, but she doesn’t get a chance to say anything. Yui had turned around to give both of them a startling glare. She settles her red eyes on Ayato.

“Please be nice to Mai, Ayato. Mai, don’t egg him on. I’m trying to study.” She turns back to her school work in a fluster. Ayato scoffs once again as he turns his attention Yui. It’s silent for a few minutes.

“Why are you bothering with studying? It’s not like anything is going to stick inside that air headed brain of yours,” Ayato says. Anger fills Mai’s chest. It only grows as Yui distractedly replies.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Mai glances between the two. Ayato was slowly creeping up on the unsuspecting Yui again. Panic starts to fills Mai’s stomach. She wasn’t about to watch her friend get bitten. Mai flinches at the thought of the pain she had gone through. She doesn’t give herself a chance to think through the consequences of her actions. She simply draws her hand back and aims the book at his head. Unfortunately, her aim is off, so it bounces harmlessly off of his shoulder. Her heart stops when he turns furious green eyes on her. Yui had turned to watch the two of them. Ayato sneers at Mai. “You’re a special kind of stupid, aren’t you?”

Mai instantly regrets throwing the book at him, but she remains sitting in the center of the bed. She flinches when Ayato lunges at her. She rolls onto her back and aims a kick at him, but his cold hand wraps painfully around her ankle. “I’ll teach you not throw things at yours truly!”

“Ayato!” Yui’s voice was full of panic, but it didn’t seem to faze Ayato’s anger. Mai aims a kick with her other leg, but he once again catches her ankle. All she gets as a warning is a sadistic smile. She twists her body just before Ayato jerks on her legs. Her hands attempt to grab the edge of the bed, but all she gets is two fistfulls of plush blanets. She can feel her body slip off the bed and lets out a panicked breath to brace for impact.

She lands with a thump. She wasn’t sure if she should be thankful that she landed on her stomach. Luckily, the plush blanket helped to soften her blow, but it still causes her nausea to swell up again. The blankets were half under her, half over her. Warning bells start to ring in her head. Ayato had let go of her ankles mid fall. She thrashes around to try to get the blanket off of her head. She is almost free when she gets a horrible weightless feeling, and everything goes dark.

To her horror, she could hear Ayato laughing. Her body was now crammed inside the blanket. It felt like he carrying her somewhere like one would a garbage bag. Mai wildy tries to strike out at him, but she doesn’t feel anything. Her humiliation grows when she hears him saying. “Stay out, trash.”

It feels like he’s thrown her, so she curls up to try to prevent her head from hitting something again. She feels her body collides something, but the blanket helps to cushion the landing. She hears Yui saying something, but it’s cut off by a door slamming. Mai ends up just laying there for a moment before she starts to slowly wiggle her way out. She flinches when the light hits her eyes. It made her feel sick to her stomach. She presses a hand to her mouth. Why had she tried? She knew that she wouldn’t have done any good. She reminds herself that she had to help her friend.

She slowly makes her way toward Yui’s door, but it doesn’t come as a surprise to find it locked. She glances up and down the hallway. It was time for her to leave. Yui wasn’t here to prevent her from leaving. She would return home, or maybe go to the police station first, and do her best to get Yui out of this place. She didn’t think that it could even be legal to keep Yui here.”

She hesitates. She had no idea how to get out of the mansion, but she assumed that making her way to the living room would be the best course of action. Typically, living rooms were close to the exit, right? She’d just be cautious of Shuu, if he was still there.

Laito’s words come back to her. Yui had some sort of special relationship, though it didn’t save her from being hurt. If she was special, that would mean that Mai would have to be extra careful. It was painfully apparent that being special didn’t mean that she was given a free ride. Mai cautiously sticks to the wall and makes her way down the hallway in what she hoped was the direction of the living room. She tried not to jump at every sound, but she pauses every few steps to cast a cautious look around her. Upon coming to any doors, she would try to leap past them as quietly as possible and then hurry away from them. The last thing she wanted was to have one unexpectedly open and drag her in. She had already fallen into enough cliches.

She had finally made it to the living room. She pauses to cast a look back down the long, silent hallway. She had somehow made it without any issues, but halfway down the hallway, she had gotten a creepy feeling. It was like she was being watched. She shudders at the thought of Laito being the one who was watching her. She hadn’t been able to find any sign of the silent watcher though. She steps out onto the top of the stairs. Shuu looked like he hadn’t moved an inch. Dread fills her stomach. She had been hoping he would have left by now.

Several doors lead off into different directions. She mentally marks off the door she thought Yui had lead her through before. Her eyes turn to inspect the other doors. There were only two other ones, but she didn’t know if she wanted to wander aimlessly through the house and run into Laito or, worse yet, Kanato.

“It’s the one on the right.”

She jumps at the sound of his voice. Her attention turns toward Shuu, but he hadn’t moved. She was starting to doubt that he even spoken. She tenses when he finally moves. He had turned his head just enough to reveal a tired, blue eye. His voice is muffled by his arm, but it was so quiet in the living room that she didn’t have much problem hearing him. “You wanted to leave.”

Despite it not being a question, Mai nods. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. The last thing she would do is blindly trust someone in this household. He turns his head back. He releases what sounded like a sigh. “It’s the one on the right.”

“Why are you helping me?” Mai couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

“It’s hard to enjoy my music with you standing there staring stupidly at the doors.” He practically sighs those words. Mai bites back a comment. If he was truly helping her, she didn’t want to upset him. She turns her attention back to the door. It wouldn’t hurt to make her way over and peek to see if he was indeed telling the truth. She’s careful to keep glancing at him, but he never once moves during her trip.

To her surprise and relief, she finds that he had actually told her the truth. It looked just like most rich mansions in the movies. She could see a large double staircase that moved up to the next level. The room was large and relatively empty looking. It had various doors lining the sides, but she didn’t pay much attention to those. Her eyes had caught sight of huge double doors. She had a feeling that they would be just as heavy as they looked. Dread fills her stomach. She turns her attention back to Shuu to find he still hadn’t moved. She wasn’t sure if she should feel relieved or not. In all honesty, she felt even more suspicious of him. It felt like he was pretending to simply lay there, but he would pop up and attack her at any given moment. “How am I supposed to leave? Those doors look heavy.”

He doesn’t answer for a few minutes. Mai briefly wonders if he had either fallen asleep or was just ignoring her. Just as she gives up and turns to regard the doors again, he says almost so low that she can’t hear him. “Not my problem.”

Mai can’t help but roll her eyes. Still, she held her comment back. He had helped her when he didn’t have to. She didn’t plan to thank him though. Reiji had coldly rejected her gratitude, and she wasn’t about to go through that humiliation again. She quickly steps out of the living room into the foyer. She slowly looks around to make sure it was truly devoid of any vampires. There weren’t many places to hide, but she still felt like she was being watched. She slowly makes her way toward the door. She quickly stifles the hope raising her in stomach. This was going too smoothly. Something was bound to happen. Her hand reaches out to touch the cool wooden door. She looks it over thoughtfully. How would she move it?

“Need some help?” She jumps and spins to face him. Her head spins, and she leans back against the door. She's careful to keep her head from touching the door, and she glares up at Laito to see that he was looking down at her with feigned concern. Mai gives him her best glare. Finally, the dizziness seems to settle down.

“I want to go home. I want to talk to my parents.”

“Ah, come on! I haven’t got to spend any time with you,” Laito coos at her. She tenses when he leans toward her. His hand settles beside her head, like he had done earlier. She presses her entire body even harder against the door. Laito’s body was lightly pressed to hers. She flinches when she remembers holding onto him just before passing out. He leans down, causing her entire body to feel stiff with fear. He moves his other hand to press against the door. It was just above her hip, so it felt like he was trying to cage her in. She presses her legs tightly together to prevent him from pressing his leg between hers. The second she does, she feels his knee pressing against her lower thighs, only a few inches above her knees. He chuckles softly. She flinches and leans away from his face. She could feel his breath on the skin of her cheek. She tries to wiggle away, but he doesn’t even seem to notice. She presses her weight into his arm, hoping to shove it away from her. Her heart was racing, and panic was starting to make it hard to think clearly. She had to get away from him. His voice is low and husky. “Do you need me to kiss your bumps all better? I’m sure that you’ve got a few new ones. I don’t mind. It doesn’t matter where. Just show me.”

His nose brushes along her jaw. She moves a hand up to try to push his face away. The second her hand nears his face, he moves his head. Before she can react, his teeth sinks into the skin of her hand between her thumb and index finger. Her body jerks in surprise. She pulls on her hand, and pain races up her arm. It reaches all the way up to her shoulder. She sucks in and holds her breath. He moans softly against her hand. His eyes drift closed, and she can see his face twisting in what looks like ecstasy.

His body presses against her a little harder. She feels like she’s being crushed between him and the door. Her body still felt paralyzed and numb, but she didn’t have the same overwhelming pain that had happened last time. It wasn’t a great feeling. If she had to describe it, she say that she was pleasantly numb. He pulls away from her after what feels like hours. He makes a soft humming noise in the back of his throat. The feeling was returning to her body. Her hand starts to throb, which helps to chase the last bit of numbness away. His face is much closer to hers than she is comfortable with. She could see him slowly licking his lips. He was still wearing a look of ecstasy.

“It’s not as good as a bride’s blood, but it’s still good enough. It certainly gets me going,” he coos in a husky voice. She tries to stop the shudder from running down her spine. She presses her head back against the door to put some distance between their faces, but it sends a shock of pain through her skull. She ends up leaning as far back as she can without touching it with her head. He lets out another husky chuckle and narrows his eyes a little. Despite the sound of his voice, his eyes seemed oddly clear.

“Stupid, little human. We bite, you know. It might be better not to stick your body parts near our mouths.” His eyes glow for a moment. A suggestive look slowly takes over his face. His voice is so low that Mai can barely hear it. “Unless you are wanting to be bitten. Tell me, Sweetheart. If you tell me where, I’ll be happy to oblige. Come on, don’t be shy. Or do you want me to show you the best places to drink blood from are..”

Her breath catches in her throat. He starts to leans in. She closes her eyes tightly. She had to clear her mind to think of a way to get free of him. She flinches when she feels his tongue touch the corner of her mouth. He slowly drags it across her face before he arrives just before her ear. He pulls away just enough to move, so he can lightly nip the bottom of her ear. It feels like her heart had stopped. She was sure that he was about to bite her again, and she didn’t think she could mentally prepare herself fast enough.

“Enough.”

The pent up air rushes from her lungs. She silently thanks Reiji for appearing to help her. She feels Laito sigh against her skin. His body straightens, and he looks over his shoulder at his brother. He adds a slightly disappointed undertone to his voice. “Ah, do you want to join?”

“This is not how you treat a guest, Laito,” Reiji coldly states. Mai slowly opens her eyes to try to gauge Laito’s expression. She was silently cheering Reiji on.

“She’s my guest, though.” Laito states. He sounded much too cheerful for Mai’s liking. She pushes on him. Thankfully, she’s able to move him away from her a couple of inches. It felt like she could breath again. He glances at her and winks before he turns his attention back to Reiji.

“Then properly entertain her. If you wish to do such detestable activities, then find a private place to do so. You are dirtying the door.”

Mai flinches at those words. She had been hoping that he had been there to at least help her, but it seemed like she had been horribly wrong. Laito lets out a soft whine. “It’s no fun in private. The biggest thrill comes from the chance of being caught!”

“Laito.” She flinches at the cold, unspoken threat in Reiji’s voice, though it clearly doesn’t bother Laito. He simply lets out a sigh.

“If you weren’t such an unlikable person, you might be able to release that pent up energy once in awhile,” Laito states. Reiji’s eyes narrow threateningly at his younger brother. Mai feels like she is missing some key point. Laito looks up toward the ceiling with an almost thoughtful look. “Look at Ayato. He’s been so much happier since Little Bitch came along. I feel so much better when I manage to get a fun score.”

Mai’s face starts to burn when she catches on. She felt incredibly slow for not seeing it sooner. Reiji seems to regard his brother with a cold, calculating gaze. His tone is short when he states. “Do not lump me in with you.”

Mai considers moving, due to the tension building in the area, but she didn’t dare move. She was positive that doing so would alert the two vampires to her presence, especially Laito. His body was still lightly touching hers. She represses a flinch at the thought. Laito lets out a sigh. “When was the last time you let loose?”

“Laito, that is rude to discuss with others, especially in front of a guest.” Reiji abruptly turns. “Subaru, enough with your lurking. Take her to the game room until the doctor arrives.”

She hears a disembodied growl that sends a chill down her spine. Her shudder draws Laito’s vivid green gaze back to her for a moment. An unfamiliar voice snaps. “Why do I have to entertain the pervert’s whore?”

Offended, Mai clenches her fists. Without thinking it through, she snaps. “I’m not a whore, and I don’t belong to… to…. Him!”

She tried to sound as insulting as she could, but it seemed she failed miserably. Laito was the only one who was paying attention, and he just gives her a suggestive smirk. She manages to scoot a little further away from him. He doesn’t try to stop her from ducking under his arm and putting a good foot between the two.

“You seem to have nothing better to do. He’s clearly unable to keep himself contained while in the common rooms. We will not tarnish the Sakamaki’s reputation. The doctor has been called to check on her again.” Reiji disappears into one of the doors. Mai glances toward Laito to see an amused smirk on his face while he stared after Reiji. An unfamiliar silver haired male seems to appear to Mai’s right. His crimson eyes are full of fury. His hand lashes out grabbing a careless fistful of Mai’s tank top near the collar. Without giving her time to even think, he jerks on her violently. The last thing she hears is Laito saying. “Subaru, I wouldn’t do that.”

Her world spins around her. She reaches out to grab the first thing she can touch. Her hand touches something soft. She can vaguely see that it’s a couch. She scrambles onto it. She didn’t know when Subaru had released her, nor did she remember a couch sitting in the foyer. She was positive that she was in a different room, but she didn’t know how she had gotten there. She just knew that it had to do with Subaru. Her stomach gives an uncomfortable lurch; she still felt like she was moving. She feels something cold touch the back of her neck and jerks away. She doesn’t have time to even look up. She scrambles to her feet, pressing a hand to her mouth. Her eyes flick around the room. She could see various types of games such as a pool table or darts, but she didn’t see what she really needed at that moment.

“Hey, what the fuck is wrong with you?!” A rough voice snaps at her. She closes her eyes tightly. She was going to throw up. The room was still violently spinning, and it wasn’t showing signs of slowing down. She sways, and she feels her leg bump the couch again. She plops down without a second thought. It looked like she might end up just throwing up where she was. “Hey!”

“I told you not to do that.” She recognized that voice. She feels cold hands dragging her roughly up. She stumbles along with Laito. She feels him let go, and she opens her eyes. This was it. There was no holding it back. Thankfully, she’s in a bathroom. Her body dry heaves, but she thankfully makes it to the toilet in time. She empties her stomach vaguely aware of the conversation taking place not far from her.

“Humans are pathetic and disgusting.”

She hears Laito chuckling. His voice is amused, but Mai couldn’t find it in her body to really care. “Yes they are.”

She sags against the toilet after flushing it. She crawls to her feet to rinse her mouth out. Another bout of dizziness hits her halfway through, so she returns to kneeling beside the toilet. The cool surface of both the toilet and the tile beneath her butt and legs was helping to steady the dizzy feeling. She closes her eyes again and just sits there. She felt completely gross. She flinches when a foot collides with her thigh. Pain races throughout her leg. She turns her brown glare up at the silver haired boy. She was now coherent enough to really take him in. He still looked older than Kanato, even though Laito had told her he was the youngest. Anger surges through Mai, and she turns her furious gaze to Laito. The anger helped to burn the rest of haziness away. He had lied to her! Thankful her nausea had eased away, she tries to scramble up and confront him, but he claps his hands. Startled, she ends up just staring at him, while he cheerfully says, “Subaru, let’s play billiards! Sweetheart can be your opponent.”

She settles a glare on Laito, who simply smiles innocently at her. She wanted to punch him in the face, but she flinches at the idea. Just the thought had brought up the memories of him biting her hand. She closes her eyes and tries to say calmly. “I don’t know how to play billiards, so no I don’t want to play. Besides, I won’t ever play another game of yours, you filthy liar.”

He seems to just ignore her. “Ok! She can be the prize!”

That simple statement stops her heart. Subaru doesn’t seem to miss a beat. “I don’t want your whore, pervert.”

Mai turns her attention to the silver haired boy. “I’m not a whore, and I-”

“Shut up!” He snarls. His fist collides with the countertop. There is a resounding crack, driving Mai back a few steps. She was thankful that there was so much room in the bathroom. Her eyes lock with the broken countertop. Her heart was racing wildly. What had she gotten herself into?

“Subaru, you know that Reiji is going to be upset that you broke something outside your room again,” Laito mockingly lectures. It just earns him a cold look from his brother. 

“Don’t pretend to be my older brother,” He snarls. A smile spreads over Laito’s face. 

“Come on, Subaru. Do you think you’ll lose to a girl? A human at that?”

Subaru scoffs and turns his furious glare on Mai. She involuntarily flinches away from him. She tries to offer him a smile, but it just serves to irritate him further. He turns and stalks out of the bathroom. She casts a glance at Laito, but he wasn’t at the door anymore. She could fully understand why Yui behaved the way she did. Mai felt like she was going crazy, and it hadn’t even been a whole day.

She considers staying in the bathroom, but she could hear a crashing from the game room. She flinches and decides maybe it was best not to aggravate the seemingly already upset vampire. She glances at the countertop nervously and makes her way out. She only makes it a step out when a cue stick is tossed her way. She scrambles to catch it, but it slips out of her grip. It loudly clatters to the ground. Subaru makes a noise of irritation. She reaches down to quickly scoop it up. Subaru says coldly. “I’m not interested in his whore, so you’re playing. We’ll do 8-ball. It’s easiest for a beginner.”

Laito clicks his tongue. “Ah, aren’t you sweet? Are you planning to go easy on her, too?”

“Shut up, pervert!” Subaru snaps. Mai’s positive that she saw a flash of red coloring his cheeks before he turns his back to grab the balls. She starts to doubt her state of mind. She didn’t think it was possible for any of these people to feel humility.

She moves to the table. What was she doing? Why wasn’t she running away? Laito was leaning against the table opposite her. He was watching Subaru set up the balls. Mai makes sure to pay attention when Subaru lines up to shoot first. She tries to observe everything in his posture. The sound of the balls hitting makes her head throb painfully. It felt like her medicine was wearing off. Once it’s her turn to shoot, she tries to awkwardly mimic Subaru’s posture. Her face starts to burn with humiliation when she hears Laito laughing. She straightens up unsure of what she had done wrong. She glances between the two of them. Subaru still looked annoyed, but she thought she saw faint traces of amusement in his eyes. She wasn’t sure though. Anger mixes with her humiliation.

“Sweetheart, you are right handed.” Laito’s voice was grating on her nerves at that moment. She levels a glare at him. She wasn’t going to ask him for help. It’s silent for a moment. Finally, he starts to stalk around the table. “Subaru’s left handed. It’s easier to shoot with your dominant hand.”

Mai steps away from him when he steps close. She moves the cue between them. She was trying to set the thicker part up so she could use it to hit him between the legs if he came any closer. She figured that would be easier than trying to hit him anywhere else on the body. If he notices, he doesn’t give her any indication. Still, she decides to assume that he does. He gives her a playful smile. “I can help you.”

“That’s cheating. You are good at billiards,” Subaru snarls. Laito simply ignores Subaru. Mai slowly shakes her head.

“If I lose, I don’t care. I don’t want you touching me.”

“Looks like not even your whore likes you, pervert,” Subaru seems to coldly mock. Mai casts a frustrated glare at Subaru, but she quickly turns her attention back to Laito. He was much too close for comfort, while Subaru was on the opposite side of the table. She figured it was best to not get distracted, regardless what Subaru called her. A livid look flickers over Laito’s face, but, like all the times before, it’s gone before she can be sure of its’ existence. It’s replaced by a coldly playful smirk.

“Fine.” He had a dangerous undertone. She’s a little suspicious that he had moved to sit on a couch not far from the table. She tries to shake off the feeling that something bad was about to happen and turns her attention back to the table. She once again tries to mimic Subaru’s posture, only she did it on the opposite side. It still didn’t feel right. She aims for the ball, hits, and misses terribly. She hears mocking laughter from Laito, and a scoff of amusement from Subaru.

This was going to be a long game. She desperately hoped that the doctor showed up soon. She’d beg him to take her out of that house. Her and Yui.

She doesn’t get a chance to really worry about Yui. A cue stick painfully whacks her on her shoulder. She hisses in pain.

“Pay attention,” Subaru snaps.

She gives him a frustrated glare, but she settles her mind on the game the best she could. She was still thinking about what she could tell the doctor to get him to help her. The truth wouldn’t work. He was working under the Sakamaki’s pay, so she had to consider that as well. She feels a surge of determination. She wasn’t about to let Laito beat her down. She would figure out how to get free, and she would rub it in his face.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter! Thank you for reading!

She wouldn’t admit it out loud, but she was having fun. She had a the creepy feeling that Laito eyeing her everytime she bent over to shoot, but she found she didn’t care as much. Subaru was moody and rude, but she found that she liked him. He was fun to play with. She had lost the first game horribly, and her second game wasn’t any better. Between the two games, she had only made three successful shots. Subaru finishes their second game with one last shot. She can’t stop the grin that she casts in his direction. His glower doesn’t bother her like it did before they started playing. “You’re amazing at this, Subaru!”

Her voice was loud, even to herself. She could have sworn that she saw a light tinting to his cheeks, but he simply tosses his cue on the table. “Tch. You just suck.”

She laugh, not at all offended by his remark. She blinks only to find him gone. She casts a glance around, but she only finds Laito sitting on the couch. She turns her gaze to him. He gives her a playful smirk. “He’s right. You are horrible. You should have let me help you.”

She slowly shakes her head. She jumps when she hears a man say, “It’s good to see you up and moving around this time, young lady.”

She reluctantly drags her eyes from Laito to see a man in his later twenties approaching her. He had black hair and was dressed in light blue scrubs. Her face flushes. She thought he would be older. She was suddenly conscious that he had seen her naked when he had helped Yui bath her, though she was sure that he had seen plenty of people. That still didn’t ease her embarrassment. He gestures toward one of the various seats around the walls of the game room. Mai gently lays her cue on the pool table beside Subaru’s and turns to quickly sit on the nearest seat, which happened to be a chair. She makes herself focus on the doctor. She could feel her cheeks burning though. He gives her a charming smile when he kneels down in front of her. His hands reach up to gently probe the back of her head. She flinches, but the pain helped to remind her about the real reason for his visit. He mutters a gentle sorry. He has her lean forward so he can visibly inspect the area. His fingers slowly starts to separate her hair.

“Ah, the swelling has gone down considerably. That’s a good sign.” Hope fills her chest. She flinches once his fingers brush the sore spot. After a moment of silence, he asks. “How old are you?”

“Um, seventeen.” He lets out a low whistle.

“Practically an adult! Where do you go to school?” Mai could feel herself relaxing. She figured he had started talking to help ease her tension. He reaches down to lightly press up on her chin. She takes the cue to lift her head again. She runs her fingers through her hair to get it to lay down correctly again.

“Ryoutei Academy.” He gives her a pleasant smile, and she has to repress a flinch. She didn’t actually plan to go there anymore. In fact, she was going to talk to her parents about moving entirely. It clearly wasn’t safe at her house either. She’d even go to a boarding school if she had to.

“That’s a good school. Opens plenty of doors if you know the right people.” He chuckles. He glances around then looks down at her. She frowns up at him. She figured he was implying the Sakamakis with that comment, but she slowly starts to shake her head.

“Oh. If you are implying the Sakamakis, I’m not close with them.” He gives her a clearly disbelieving look. She forces a smile to try to hide her irritation. “I’m actually friends with someone they are taking care of.”

He silently watches her for a minute. Her heart starts to race. Maybe he didn’t know about Yui. Mai could use this to her advantage. Over the top of the doctor’s shoulder, she glances in Laito’s direction. She was sure that she should be surprised he stayed, but she wasn’t. He was sitting sidewise on the couch almost exactly across the room from her. One arm was resting on the back, and the same leg was resting on the cushions. When her eyes meet his, he gives her a wink and a playful smirk. A shudder runs down her spine.

“Ah, the Komori girl.” Mai’s gaze turns back to the doctor. Disbelief fills her chest. A cold knot of dread was sitting in the pit of her stomach. He gives her another smile, but she didn’t find it as charming this time. He knew that Yui was here, and he hadn’t done anything to help her yet. Did he know of the brother’s true nature? Her heart starts to race. He reaches into the chest pocket on his scrub top and pulls out a pen. He lifts it up until it’s right in front of her nose. She does as instructed and follows it with her eyes without turning her head. “She’s a very nice girl.”

Mai forces a smile onto her face. Suspicion was coiling around her stomach. She wanted nothing more than to get away from the doctor. She just had to get away from the house. He puts the pen away and pulls out a small flashlight. She flinches and tries to focus on his face. The thought of him flashing a light in her eyes and blinding her didn’t sit well with her. She has to tell herself that he was just checking to make sure that her eyes would dilate properly, but she couldn’t get rid of the growing dread and suspicion. He gives her a reassuring smile. “So far, so good. Keep this up, and you’ll be going home before you know it!”

She wanted to feel hopeful, but it was an impossible task for her. He flicks the light on then flashes it into one of her eyes. She flinches back, blinking rapidly. He drops it after a few seconds. He does the same to the other eye. Her heart starts to race. She couldn’t see that well due to the after effects of the light. She blinks rapidly after he drops the flashlight. She’s finally able to reach up to rub at her eyes with the bottom portion of her palm. The Laito’s puncture marks on her hand stung for a moment. She flinches. This could be her chance to leave with Yui in tow. She finally had the perfect excuse. She mutters softly, “hey, Doctor. I was wondering, wouldn’t it be safer to have someone walk me home tonight? My parents and I are pretty close, so they must be worried about me. They are just dying to meet my friend Yui, so I was thinking that maybe I’d pass it by you.”

“Do you feel faint?”

The question didn’t surprise her, but he had said with a very strange tone. She cautiously drops her hands to look up at him. He was still smiling, but it seemed more guarded now. It set her nerves on edge. Laito had stalked closer at some point, so she assumed the doctor’s tone was because of that. Dread wells up in her chest. She slowly shakes her head. “Any passing out? Other than Mr. Laito brought you here.”

Once again, she shakes her head. “How about throwing up? Have you thrown up recently?”

She gives a small shake of her head. She flinches when an arm drapes over her shoulders. She reaches up to shove Laito’s arm away from her shoulders. The doctor glances between the two. His face becomes unreadable for a moment before he smiles at Mai again. The sight sets every warning bell off in her head. He had to know something was going on in the Sakamaki house. 

Laito leans down till his face is close to hers. It’s like he was purposely trying to frustrate her. She reaches up to put her hand over his mouth, but she hesitates. The last thing she wanted was to get bitten again. Her hand drops back into her lap, and she settles for leaning away from him with a frustrated glare.

“Are you going to lie to him, Sweetheart? You threw up about a half hour ago. It was when Subaru brought you here,” Laito says with a playful tone. He turns a clearly feigned look of concern to the doctor, who gave his undivided attention to Laito “She’s been lying to you, Doc. She has been very faint and has thrown up multiple times. I’m positive that she’s getting dizzy spells, but she is just so stubborn and shy. I am so worried about her.”

She can only stare at Laito. She had thrown up once, and she hadn’t felt faint at all! Anger at his lies starts to build up. He glances at her with a playful look on his face. She balls her hands up in the loose fabric of her shorts without thinking about it. She couldn’t believe that he was trying to sabotage her! She flinches and immediately takes that thought back. Of course he would. This was all just a game to him. He had told her he was going to bend her until she broke. There was no way she would let him do that. She abruptly stands up, causing the doctor to have to straighten up and step back. She tries to keep her voice even when she says. “I’m fine. He’s just…..I’ve overstayed my welcome. It’s about time I got home”

The doctor can only stare at her suspiciously. She quickly turns away and picks a random door. Nausea wells for only a moment, but she’s able to ignore it. She hurries to her chosen door, ignoring the call of the doctor. She knew that it had to be getting later in the afternoon. Night falling would only make this harder on her. She pulls the door open and steps out before closing it behind her. Her escape from Laito and the doctor had seemed way too easy. She tries to fight overwhelming dread and panic. She had to think clearly if she wanted to stand a good chance of escaping. 

She glances around to try to figure out where she was. She was yet another hallway. She releases a soft sigh, trying to feel hopeful. How many hallways were there in this place? She had no idea how big it was, but, judging from the rooms, it was huge. Just thinking about that brought up another important question. How had Subaru gotten her there? It was such a rush that she wasn’t sure, but she knew that he hadn’t lead her there. She glances back at the door and realizes how much time she was wasting. She didn’t want to wait around for the doctor to catch up. She was sure by now that Laito could catch her if he wanted to. She flinches at the thought and sets off down the long hallway. She made sure to jog a little to make up for the time she had already lost. She would wander around until she found her way out.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

She was panting and sweating. She desperately wished that she had asked Yui where her phone had disappeared too. It felt like hours had passed, but she had somehow managed to find her way back to the front door. It had scared her that it was open just enough for her to slip out. She considered not leaving, but the thought of staying with Laito any longer spurred her out, against her better judgement. She had found the fountain to be eerily interesting while she skirted around it. The gates were also open just enough for her to get out. She had hesitated about leaving. This was obviously a trap, but she had already came so far. She could see a road leading out into a forest just beyond. Just as she slips out of the gate, she thinks, for a heart stopping moment, that she had heard a chuckle.

She had taken a few steps down the lonely road when a banging from behind startles her. She looks over her shoulder to see that the gates had shut. She turns to inspect the road in front of her. It cut through the woods and looked to go on forever. She shifts her weight back and forth nervously. She couldn’t see or hear any signs that they were even remotely near the city. It felt like she was trapped between a rock and a hard place. There were vampires and a friend of hers behind her. Ahead of her was a scary road. The woods surrounding that scary road could be hiding anything. She was determined to only think of wild animals. The last thing she needed was her imagination running wild with all sorts of creatures from fairy tales. She considers going back to the mansion behind her. She instantly, and slowly, shakes her head. There was no way that she would go back, but she found that she didn’t want to go forward either. Her back touches the iron bars of the gate. She didn’t know when she had backed up against it, but she slowly sinks to the ground. The sun was starting setting, so it just made everything that much worse. She would have to choose soon. She tenses when she thought she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She turns her head slowly to find nothing there. She pulls her knees up and hugs them tightly. She was starting to wonder if she was out there alone.

Everything seemed like it was going wrong. She felt like she was losing her grip on reality. She presses her mouth to the back of her knees, hoping to to fight tears. She lets out a squeaking sound that the sound of a tig breaking nearby. She looks in that direction, but she doesn’t see anything at all. Every fine hair on her body stands on end. She knew that she had made a huge mistake earlier. She should have just listened to her common sense, like she always did. There were all sorts of animals out in the woods that could easily kill her. It wasn’t just animals, but there were also crazy people, druggies, a variety of dangerous things. She jumps to her feet and turns to grab the iron bars that made up the gate. She pushes, but it doesn’t move. She pulls, but it still doesn’t move. She couldn’t see a lock on it, nor had she heard it lock. Her adrenaline was coursing through her veins, but it didn’t do her any good. She lets out a whimpering sound. She turns to look when she saw something move. Tears of fear well up in her eyes. She could have sworn that she had seen someone walking between the trees. She turns slowly, so her back is to the gate, when she thought that she had heard something growling. Just like she suspected, there wasn’t anything behind her.

Her heart was racing wildly in her chest. It was like the woods had come alive around her. She knew it was her imagination, but she could have sworn that the trees were reaching for her. She hears a screech above her and hunkers down. She spares a glance upward to find bats. It felt like they were circling her like vultures. She lets out a loud scream when she feels something brush her foot. She had stupidly left without shoes. It was getting darker by the minute, so she couldn’t see what the colors on it’s scales were, but she could clearly see that it was a snake.

Her heart stops when she hears a hiss coming from it. It brushes against her foot again. She didn’t dare move now; she was even holding her breath. It felt like it was starting to loosely coil around her foot. It’s damp, cool body scraped lightly against her skin, and she wanted to cry. Nothing frightened her more than snakes. It’s head brushes just above her ankle. She lets out a choked sob. It felt like everything was falling apart around her even worse. She hadn’t even managed to leave, but she wanted to go back now.

She wraps her arms tightly around her body. She slowly lets her breath out, but she sucks it back in when she feels the snake moving again. She wanted it gone. Without a second thought, she kicks her leg straight out. It wiggles against her body, but it slips off of her foot. She ends up sliding back down onto her butt. The metal drags across her back painfully, lifting her shirt just a little. She could hear a very close thumping noise when the snake collides with the ground. The howl of some type of dog echoes through the woods, prompting her to scramble to her feet again. She wouldn’t stand a chance against anything if she was sitting down. She felt dizzy for a minute, but she didn’t think about it at all. She could only think about how she had a snake somewhere near her. In her panic filled mind, she had herself foolishly convinced that the snake was mad and was going to enact revenge on her. She spins to face the mansion once more. She lets out another scream when she finds Laito standing there. She could barely see him in the dying light, but she could see that he was wearing a cruel smirk. She reaches out grabbing tightly onto the bars of the gate. A howl tears through the woods again, but it sounded like it was further way. The screeching of the bats was slowly disappearing. It didn’t change the fact that she couldn’t see, nor hear, the snake anymore. Though, she didn’t really want to see it, and she was sure that there was someone out in the woods. Laito was watching her. To her, it was like his green eyes were glowing slightly.

He doesn’t make any move to approach the gate. She didn’t expect him to. There was no hope that he would help her, but she thought she felt something touch the back of her foot. She quickly sidesteps, and her eyes lock with Laito’s. She hated that she was going to do this, but she was already so frightened. “Please.”

He gains a thoughtful look, though he clearly wasn’t even thinking about it. “I don’t know what you are asking for.”

His voice was eerily cold. She hated him, but she felt like he was her last life line. She glances over her shoulder. She hears him chuckle and turns her attention back to him. She tried to add a bit more pleading into her voice. “Can I please come back inside?”

It looked like he was enjoying this much more than he should have been. He releases a sigh, as if his next words were going to trouble him. He gives her what looks like a mockingly regretful look. “Well, you were just so eager to leave. I even made it easy for you.”

She grits her teeth. She flinches when something slides over her foot. She bites her lip hard to keep from screaming. Against her better judgement, she looks down. Her stomach drops to see another snake, or maybe the same one, sliding over her foot. She jumps when his hand grips the gate and looks up at him. He leans close to it. He uses his other hand to gesture toward the road. “You are free to leave.”

She pulls away from the gate and backs up a few steps. She flinches when her foot brushes something, but she’s relieve to find that it’s just some undergrowth. She tries one more time. “Please.”

He leans his head back to laugh. It cuts through the night, making everything grow eerily silent. It was like the animals of the night had taken a collective breath. He sounded playful, but his undertone had a cruel hint to it. “You look so pathetic and scared. Humans break so easy, don’t they?”

“Laito,” Mai mutters. That seems to get his attention. He stop laughing and tilts his head. It was almost like he was genuinely enjoying himself. That sent a shiver down her spine. His body shudders, and she instantly gets a horrible feeling. He was toying with her. He had set this all up, and she had walked head first into it. Still, she didn’t want to stay out there any longer than she had to.

“Yes, Sweetheart?” he coos back at her. She hesitates. Did she really want to do this? She hears something moving through the undergrowth. It was much closer to her than she was comfortable with. She lunges back to the gate and grips it like it would save her. Her life was more important than her stupid pride.She would beg him to help her if she needed to. He looks down at her with what looks like a smirk, as if he knew what was going through her mind.

“Please let me in, Latio. Please.” She flinches at the soft groaning noise he makes. She has to fight to keep herself from recoiling from him. He wasn’t much better than the animals, but she hoped that she could retreat to Yui’s room once she got inside. He leans his face closer to hers. He says in a husky voice.

“Begging isn’t going to do it for me.”

Her entire body stiffens. She realized that couldn’t see much of his face at this point to truly gauge his reactions. She jumps closer to the bars when she hears a howl. She looks back at him frantically. “What do you want?”

He steps away from the bars. Her heart stops, and she reaches through the gate to grab his sleeve. She feels him stop, and she sags against the bars. She was sure that he could feel how bad she was shaking. “What…. Please…. I…..”

He lets out a chuckle, and she instantly drops his sleeve. She jumps when his hand wraps around the hand of hers that is holding the gate. She lets out a hiss of pain when he starts to squeeze it tightly. She looks up trying to see his face clearly. He leans closer once more. “Did you have fun earlier?”

She didn’t know if he could see her bewildered look. “What?”

She can feel his breath brush her face. She jerks back, but his hand holding hers prevents her from going that far. She can feel his opposite hand lightly trace up and down her forearm. His voice is low and full of amusement. “With Subaru.”

“Does it matter?” Mai frantically asks. She was confused as to what this had to do with her current situation. “Please, Laito. I’m scared. Please help me. Please let me in.”

She hated how weak her voice sounded. She turns when she saw something flash out of the corner of her eye. Something was very, very wrong, and it was only made worse by the fact that she was losing her ability to see. She snaps her head back to him, trying to ignore the wave of dizziness. He makes a humming noise in the back of his throat. She didn’t want to promise him anything, but her choices were looking slimmer and slimmer. He sounded uninterested when he said. “It does matter.”

She could feel the panic threatening to take over. If he lost interest, he wouldn’t just leave her there, would he? She couldn’t figure out why he was doing what he was doing. It was like he prolonging her fear to punish her. She snaps. “What are you jealous?”

“Who could possibly be jealous of you?” That made her pride sting. She settles a glare at him, and he starts to laugh. His hand tightens to the point that she starts to worry that he’ll break her bones. She reaches out and grabs his wrist. She pulls on his wrist hard, but she lets out a gasp of pain when he just squeezes her tighter. His next words stop her heart completely. “Kiss me.”

“W…….what?” she stutters out. She couldn’t comprehend what he had said. She hears a snapping sound behind her. She glances over her shoulder, but it she couldn’t see anything. The area between the trees had seemed pitch black already. She lets out a whimper. She turns back to face Laito.

“I want a kiss.” He says, sounding cheerful once more.

“Why?” Just like that, he’s gone. It takes her a minute to realize it. She reaches through the gate to see if she could feel him. Slowly, she sinks to her knees and rubs her sore hand. She reaches down to feel for any rocks so she didn’t sit on one, but her hand touches something slimy. She lets out an embarrassing squeal. She quickly scampers back up to her feet and uses the gate to sidestep as far away from it as she could. It had gotten so dark now that she could barely see in front of her face. There were no streetlights, like she was used to. The trees blocked out the natural light, and the mansion sat as a black mass without any visible lights on.

She had never been so scared to be alone in her life. She closes her eyes tightly. Her first kiss wasn’t worth her life. She didn’t think her heart could take the constant racing and stopping. She would just give in to him so she could go back to Yui’s room. “Ok!”

Nothing happens. She sags against the bars. She felt like just completely breaking down into tears. She couldn’t see anything anymore. She wasn’t sure how time was slipping by so quickly, but it scared her to not be able to see at all. She had no idea where she was, and she was completely alone. She says softly. “Ok, Laito. I’ll kiss you.”

She hears him chuckling near by, which comes as a huge relief to her. She never would have thought she’d ever feel relieved to have him near her. She feels something cold brush her cheek, causing her to flinch back. She realizes it’s his fingers when they wrap in her hair. She lets out a soft whimper of pain when his fingers press into the tender part of her skull, but the whimper doesn’t last long. He had painfully pressed her face against the bars. His own cold lips press themselves against hers. She tries to jerk back after a moment, but his fingers press against the back of her head.

Tears well up. The bars made in incredibly uncomfortable, but he didn’t seem to care. His fangs painfully rake across her bottom lip. The metallic taste of blood fills her mouth. He moans excitedly into the kiss. She tries to pull back once more. The last thing she wanted was his tongue entering her mouth to chase more of her blood. He finally relents and lets her pull back. He lets out a moan that sets her nerves on edge. She reaches up to wipe the blood on her split lip away. It stung to touch it. His hand falls from her hair. She quickly reaches through the gate to grab him. “Wait! I kissed you, so you have to let me in.”

“I never made that deal.” His tone is low, almost dangerous. She flinches at the sound and stares through the bars with a dumbfounded look. She feels him pull away from her. “Why don’t you call out for Kanato to come save you? Or maybe Subaru?”

She stands there stunned. “But….”

He says playfully. “You asked me to kiss you.”

She frantically thinks over their conversation. The more she thought about it, the more she felt sick to her stomach. He hadn’t promised to let her in if she kissed him. Due to her panic, she heard what she wanted to hear, though she knew for a fact that she hadn’t asked him for a kiss. She felt betrayed, but she wasn’t sure why she was so stunned. She hears him laughing, but it was getting further and further away. Panic starts to take over her mind again. She grips the gate tightly. He says with a teasing edge. “Don’t bother calling for Shuu. He doesn’t care. Reiji won’t bother with some lowly, human girl. You are beneath us, remember that. Both in social status and on the food chain. Oh, and Ayato has Little Bitch.”

She just leans against the gate. She had kissed him for no reason. Now her lip was starting to swell up, and she had the nasty taste of blood in her mouth. She flinches when she hears something snapping behind her.

She turns, fully expecting to see nothing. Her body freezes upon seeing a woman in long white gown. She was looking intently at the ground. Mai’s mind goes blank. It feels lik her breath has been knocked out of her lungs, and she just stands there staring. She was afraid to move at all, in case she got unwanted attention. The woman wasn’t glowing or see through, but Mai couldn’t help but feel like she was incredibly dangerous. There’s a dry rasping noise, like a knife being pulled from its sheath, that suddenly comes from the woman’s direction. Mai slowly draws in her breath. This causes the woman’s head to snap up, but Mai spins around without looking at her face. “Laito! Laito! Help me! Please! Laito!”

She grabs a hold of the gate again. She glances over her shoulder just long enough to see that the woman wasn’t approaching, but she was watching Mai. Her eyes were like black pits, but the rest of her face was starting to blur. Mai feels the gates shift under her touch. She stumbles forward. She lands face first into someone’s chest. She doesn’t care who it is. She just wraps her arms tightly around them, burying her face further into his chest. She was shaking so badly that she could barely stand. She hears his cruel laughter and jerks her body away once she really realizes what she was doing.

“See, Sweetheart. You’re mine.” He says in a husky voice. She flinches when his hands suddenly and painfully grips her shoulders. He pulls her closer to his body, but she manages to maintain some distance by lifting her hands to press against his chest. She hears the gates shut behind her and looks over her shoulder to find the woman gone. She turns her attention back to where she assumed Laito’s face to be. He was the closest threat to her safety. Her heart was beating wildly with no sign of slowing down. It only gets worse when his cold cheek brushes against her warm one. She jerks away, fighting the dizziness. It didn’t seem to matter though, since she couldn’t really see. What concerned her now was the fact that she was alone with Laito, and she wouldn’t be able to see him to be able to react to his movements. It felt like he could do anything he wanted. That simple thought scared her almost as much as the woods did. She squints her eyes as hard as she can to try to see him. Just as suddenly as he grabbed her, he lets go. Her heart is now racing so fast that it’s starting to hurt. Without him touching her, she had no idea where he was.

She flinches back when cold finger tips brush her inner thigh just below her shorts. Her back collides with the gates, though she’s still mindful of her head. She reaches down to swat his hand away, but, thankfully, his hand doesn’t follow her. She swallows hard. It felt like her body was shaking even worse now. Laito wasn’t touching her, but she had a feeling that he was still near by. In fact, she was sure that he was within arms reach. She reaches up slowly to try to feel him, but her hand keeps coming up empty. Her other hand is gripping the gate behind her. His voice is playful and right next to her ear. “Don’t you want to have fun with me? I’m so hungry.”

Mai doesn’t repress the shiver. She couldn’t see him, and he was being eerily quiet other than speaking. She doesn’t bother looking in that direction. Instead, she focuses on herself. She was trying to calm her fears. She would make sure that he couldn’t do anything to her without a fight. She makes sure that she has a grip on her voice so it doesn’t shake. “I’m not yours.”

She flinches when he chuckles near the same ear. There was so much more that she could have said, but that kept playing in her mind. She wanted him to know that she didn’t think of herself as his. She steps away turning to look in that direction, but she couldn’t see anything but darkness. His voice is low and teasing. “Who did you call to come save you? I didn’t hear anyone else’s name coming from your lips.”

“That’s because I was scared, and I knew that you were there. I didn’t think the others would be able to hear me,” she argues. She could hear her voice starting to waver towards the end. She wasn’t as confident as she wanted to be. He makes a soft ‘tsk’ing noise from somewhere in front of her. She turns her attention in that direction. Thankfully, he doesn’t comment. She considers swiping at him, but she instantly thinks better of it. He’d probably be able to catch her hand, and then she’d really be at his mercy. She shivers at the thought of what he could possibly do to her. She suddenly realizes something very troubling. It had been about a minute, and he hadn’t made a single sound. In fact, other than the creepy sounds on the opposite side of the gate, it’s silent. She couldn’t hear him at all. She tries to listen intently, but there’s not a single indication of where he is. It felt like she was being watched, but she wasn’t sure if it was Laito or something else. Goosebumps rise, and she starts back toward the large, dark mass that she assumes is the house. She would be stuck the night unless she could convince one of the others to help her.

She flinches at the thought. There’s a growl from the direction of the gate, and she picks up her pace. She knew that being inside the gate didn’t mean that she was safe from nocturnal animals. Her thoughts turn back to her current problem. She didn’t think any of the vampires would readily help her. She jumps at every sound, but she didn’t feel as scared as she did before. She knew that she should be, but she was nearing the house. It wouldn’t be long before she was inside and hiding in Yui’s room for the night. Her heart was just barely starting to slow down. She looks up toward the sky with a frown. She could see the stars, but she couldn’t see the moon at all. It must be a new moon. That would explain why it was so dark. She hadn’t really ever paid close attention to the waxing and waning of it. She made a mental note to start paying attention to it.

Her foot painfully collides with something. She stumbles, frantically trying to keep her balance. She lifts her other foot to try and step over whatever she had kicked, but it was higher than she expected. Her body pitches forward. Startled, she tries to brace herself. She opens her mouth to let out a cry, but it never happens. Cold water rushes into her mouth and up her nose. It’s not overly deep, but it still enough to startle her. Her forearms had scrapped along the bottom, but the cold water helped to numb the pain some. She abruptly sits up on her hands and knees coughing violently. She had heard the water, but she had forgotten how large the fountain truly was. She hears laughter and tenses up. She cautiously looks around, but all she can see now is dark shapes. Her eyes had slowly adjusted, but it wouldn’t be enough.

“This isn’t funny, you dick!” She snaps at him. It didn’t stop his laughter though. She could feel her anger mounting. She cautiously stands up and slowly moves her foot along the bottom till she finds the edge of the fountain, which wasn’t far away. Mai makes sure to cautiously crawl out. Just as she makes it out, a hand appears between her breasts. She reaches up grabbing the sleeve of his sweater when he shoves her back. She was positive that he hadn’t tried to stop her from pulling him backwards into the fountain.

He lands heavily on top of her, but, luckily, she was able to keep her head above the water this time. She had landed on her side, since she had tried to twist her body to keep from landing on her back. He starts to move until his body is only lightly touching her side. She believed that she was between his legs, since she could feel his pelvis resting on her hip. She was resting on her elbow, which had scraped painfully along the bottom. Her other hand was down in the water to help keep her steady. She felt like she was about to tip over. She turns her face up where she thinks that his head would be. He lets out a cheerful chuckle, letting her know that she was right. She can feel him moving again. It was almost like he was leaning toward her. She braces her feet on the bottom of the fountain and tries to push herself out from under him. She was completely regretting calling out to him now. Maybe dealing with the creepy woods would have been better.

“Ah, wet already? Tsk, tsk. Naughty girl. You just can’t contain yourself, can you?” he coos at her. It sets every one of her nerves on edge. She almost snaps at him to keep his disgusting comments to himself, but she was sure that he was wanting her to do something like that. She decides to just stay quiet and focus on getting away from him. He seems to allow her to slide out from under him without any problems, which seemed just as worse than if he had touched her.

“Get away from me,” she finally says. She flinches at the sound of fear in her voice. She keeps on her hands and knees until she finds the edge of the fountain once more. She’s careful to crawl out. It was silent once again, which just set all of her warning bells off. She felt like the darkness was suffocating her. She didn’t know when he would reach out and touch her again. She rushes toward where she remembered the door being. She could have sworn that she felt cold fingers brushing along her wet skin, but she told herself that it was just the wind cooling the water clinging to her. She stumbles over a step, but she somehow manages to stay upright. She makes it up to the door and reaches out to push as hard as she can. When it doesn’t open, she pulls on it as hard as she can. She flinches and spins around when she feels his fingers trace down her upper arms. His touch disappears just as suddenly, and she tries to quiet her breathing.

She’s not sure how long that she is standing there, waiting for him to touch her again, but she slowly sinks to her butt against the door. A jolt of pain races through her back when she scrapes the cuts on her back. He hadn’t touched her in a while, but she didn’t think she could relax. A strong gust of wind makes her realize that she is absolutely freezing. She wraps her arms around her body to try to retain some warmth. She didn’t want to knock on the door and risk having one of the more temperamental vampires like Kanato or Subaru answering. She liked Subaru, but she wasn’t going to convince herself that he would be kind to her. A creaking sound rings out behind her. She quickly scoots from the door. A dim light spills out from the crack, blinding her for only a moment before her eyes start to adjust. She looks up to find cold red eyes staring down at her. She feels her whole body tense. He was one of the worst ones to find her huddled on their doorstep.

“How pitiful.” She flinches at Reiji’s cold words. He doesn’t say anything, but he disappears from the doorway. Mai hesitates, wondering if he was silently telling her to enter. She decides that it’s better staying outside and freezing. She carefully slips through the crack in the door. She jumps when she finds an older man dressed as a butler standing near the door. He seems to easily shut the door, which sends a jolt of humiliation through her body. This man looked like he was in his sixties. He never once looks up at her. Instead, he disappears into the shadows, which causes Mai to shudder. She hears a sigh and turns her attention to find Reiji standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. Once again, she feels small before him. “You were not cleared to leave. You still have a concussion.”

She clears her throat, but the look of irritation on his face halts any sort of excuse she could think of. It was like being yelled at by her parents, though he wasn’t actually yelling at her. Finally, she says softly. “I just…. Wanted to go home.”

He releases another sigh. She flinches, and she drops her gaze to the ground. She didn’t know why Reiji scared her like he did. She assumed it was because he had a natural authority about him. “You are ruining the flooring by dripping all of it. Do you have no shame?”

She flinches and mutters an apology. She glances down at her clothes, and humiliation builds up. Her light tank top wasn’t as see through as a pure white one, but it was still enough that it didn’t leave anything to the imagination. Her bra was easily showing through the thin wet material. She wraps her arms around her breasts to try to hide them from Reiji’s view. Her breath hitches, and she found herself unable to look up at Reiji. Her shorts were baggy, so she could feel them starting to slide down her body. She frantically tries to pull them up without showing her chest off to him again. She was cold, humiliated and scared. This was possibly the worst night of her life. Finally, she hears Reiji making a scoffing sound. “There is no point in trying to hide your body. You have nothing worth looking at. Go take a bath. You look disgusting. I will have a spare set of clothing brought to you later.”

She looks up to see him turning to leave. “Ah, wait! When can I go home?”

“Tomorrow.”

She flinches when she realizes that he had left her sight as abruptly as Subaru had. Slowly, she makes her way toward the living room. Her humiliation mounts when she finds that Shuu still hadn’t moved. She considered going up the staircase in the foyer, but she didn’t know her way back to Yui’s room from there, and she didn’t want to be outside her friend’s room longer than she had to be. With a hard swallow, she tries to quickly make her way through the living room without alerting Shuu. Her humiliation grows to impossible levels when she hears Shuu chuckled. She pauses at the bottom of the stairs to make a rude gesture in his direction. To her surprise, he moves just enough that she can see one blue eye. “If you are so interested, then try not wearing a bra next time.”

She feels her face flush. She turns and bolts up the stairs. She doesn’t stop running until she finally makes it to Yui’s door. She reaches out to lightly knock on it. She couldn’t bring herself to burst into Yui’s room like Ayato had done. To her surprise, Yui opens it after only a few seconds. Her crimson eyes widen when she sees Mai standing there. She gestures for Mai to quickly enter. Mai reluctantly makes her way in, but it looked like Yui’s blanket had been returned, and Ayato was gone. She stands near the door shivering. She felt so cold now that she was in Yui’s room. It was the only place that seemed warm. It was also brighter than the hallway. “What happened?”

Mai shakes her head. She manages to slowly tell Yui what had happened through chattering teeth. She looks down at herself to find out just how dirty she was. She had several scrapes along her knees and feet that she hadn’t noticed before. One elbow was still bleeding, but the scrapes on her forearms hadn’t bled at all, which was a relief. Yui seemed to only stare at Mai in shock. She reaches out to hug Mai, but Mai lifts a hand to stop her. “I’m…. I just….. Can I shower?”

Yui flinches and nods. She quickly leads Mai to a bathroom she used often. She told Mai it wouldn’t be a good idea to use the one attached to her room, since Ayato never knocked. Mai can only stop to stare at it when she entered. It was huge. It had a claw foot tub towards the middle of the room. Lining one wall was a counter with a few sinks. A large cupboard where she assumed towels was off to the right. She could see a shower stall by it. Happiness fills her heart. She’d rather shower than bath. Yui seems to quickly move around the bathroom, while Mai moves over to the shower. She turns it on to let it warm up. She turns just as Yui approaches her. Yui hangs a towel off the towel rack on the outside of the shower stall and hands Mai some showering supplies. She smiles and leaves after Mai thanks her. Once Mai is alone, she adjusts the temperature and moves over to lock the bathroom door. The steam was warming the bathroom, chasing the some of the chill from her skin. She quickly strips and gets in. The warm water felt like heaven on her skin, but it burned all of the cuts on her body, especially the ones on her back. Still, it was awkward to shower with guys near by, so she didn’t take time to relish the water. She finishes as quickly as she can. She opens the door just enough to grab the towel once she has shut the water off. She dries off and peeks out. Her eyes lock with something that stops her heart.

There was what appeared to be a robe sitting on the counter across the bathroom. She knew it hadn’t been there before. She slowly closes the shower door until she can barely see out. She hadn’t seen or heard anyone out there, but it didn’t change the fact that someone had gotten inside the bathroom while she was showering. She couldn’t think of anything creepier. She can see a hair brush sitting on top of the robe, so they were clearly thinking of her, which just made it creepier. She jumps when there is a knock on the door. She closes the shower completely and steps back, though she figured that the Sakamakis wouldn’t be the type to knock.

“Mai, I got you some of my clothes. I was wondering if you could unlock the door,” Yui says through the door. That just makes Mai feel sick to her stomach. She didn’t want to leave the false safety that the shower stall provided, but she finally convinces herself to slowly open the shower door and peek out. She was truly alone in the room. She quickly rushes to the door to find that it was, in fact, locked. She opens the door just a little to find it was only Yui. She holds out the clothes to Mai, who takes them and excuses herself before shutting the door. She turns to look back at the bathroom once again. There was no way she was going to touch the bathrobe. Who knew what could possibly be hidden inside it. Mai quickly locks the door. 

With her back to the door, she awkwardly tries to get dressed around the towel. To her surprise, she’s able to get dressed without any interruption, though she has to forgo underwear and a bra. That fact embarrasses her, but she figured that it’d be weird to wear Yui’s anyway. Yui’s clothes were a little tight around the chest, since she was larger in that area than Yui. She was also a few inches taller and a little heavier, so she was grateful that Yui had picked a longer, pale, blue t-shirt. The shorts barely reached past the shirt, but she didn’t give herself time to think much of it. She considers using the brush, but she decides against it. She would ask Yui for one.

She cautiously opens the door to find the hallway empty. She glances back to notice something she hadn’t before. Her wet clothes were gone. A chill runs down her spine, and she turns to bolt out. Her body collides with something hard. She steps back to retain her balance and looks up to find Reiji glaring down at her. She tries desperately to not think about the fact that she felt underdressed. She opens her mouth to excuse herself but immediately slams it shut. 

“You thought it wise to track filth through the living room?” He didn’t look or sound angry, but Mai had a feeling he was.

“I….. I’m sorry?”

He scoffs. His hand suddenly grips her upper arm in a painful grip, and he gives her a tug. His hand was just as cold as Laito’s. Fear runs through her body when he leads her down the hallway, past what she is sure is Yui’s room, before stopping before a door. She could feel every warning bell in her mind going off. She tries to pull away from him, but he tightens his grip. He reaches out to open the door. It looked like some sort of office. Bookshelves lined two of the walls. There was a desk near a large window on the opposite side of the room. There were two large chairs sitting before it and one sitting behind it, but that was it. Reiji jerks her forward, and she stumbles to keep her balance. She spins in time to see the door shutting. Her heart feels like it has stopped completely. A numbness takes over her body when she hears the lock click. She can hear his cold voice through the door. “You have no manners for a guest. You are to remain in that room until it is time to go home. Should you leave, you will be required to clean up after whatever mess you make.”

She just numbly nods at the door. She didn’t think he was on the other side anymore, nor did she think he would listen to anything she said even if he was. She slowly makes her way to the window. There were no clocks in the room. The only light came from a small desk lamp. She leans against the wall beside the window, so she could easily look out. She couldn’t see much, but she wasn’t looking at the ground. Instead, she was looking up at the stars. She starts to try to comb through the worst of the knots with her fingers. Her mind was racing. There was no point in trying to figure a way out of the room. She didn’t want to run into Reiji again. She hoped to never see him again.

It hit her suddenly that she felt so tired. She closes her eyes. Her head was still hurting, but her body had a dull ache to it too. She glances around the room before her eyes land on the desk. She flinches. There was no way that it’d be comfortable, but she was now having a hard time keeping her eyes open.

She slowly moves over and pulls out the desk chair. It was a lot more comfortable than it looked. She leans forward, resting her arms on the desk. She knew that it wouldn’t be a good idea to willingly sleep in the house, but she didn’t think she would be able to stay awake. It felt like so much had happened in the span of hours. She rests her chin on her arms. She wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly in this position, but she didn’t think dozing would be too dangerous.

Her last thoughts were that she hoped that no one snuck up on her and hoped that the night flew by. One last thought was to wonder if it was okay for her to sleep with a concussion. Her body relaxes more than she thought it would. She drifts off to sleep without much problem.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

She thought she had heard someone saying her name, but she wasn’t sure. She slowly opens her eyes. She felt so groggy, so she was positive that she was dreaming about her mom. She missed the safety that her house once offered. She didn’t move from her hunched position for a few minutes. She just stared at a bookcase. Once again, she wanted to pretend this was a dream, but she knew it wasn’t. With a sigh, she starts to move around. One of her arms had moved to rest in her lap, and the other was being used as a pillow. She lifts her head up slowly to find that she was alone in the office, but she was silently thankful for that. She had almost expected to wake up to Laito or perhaps Kanato. 

The more that she moves, the more she realizes that something is wrong. The grogginess was slowly easing away, and she could finally understand why she felt wrong. Her head felt oddly heavy. After a little more thought, she realizes that the heaviness wasn’t just in her head. It felt like her whole body was heavier than normal. It took more effort than it should have to simply sit up. Her mouth and throat felt so dry that it hurt to try to swallow. She flinches when she realizes that she had drooled all over the arm she was using as a pillow. The drool had run down the sides of her arm and formed a puddle on the desk. She hadn’t drooled in her sleep in years. She quickly tries to wipe the small puddle away with her hand, but it just smears. She grimaces at the sight. She didn’t know why she didn’t do it first, but she uses the bottom of Yui’s shirt to try to clean it up. Luckily, it clears away with a faint smudge. When she looked closer, she could see what appeared to be a light smudge mark where she had rested her arm. She once again tries to wipe it away with the bottom of the shirt, but it just makes it worse. She gives up and settles for wiping her mouth and cheek free of drool. She briefly looks around for a mirror, but she can’t find one. She silently hoped that the drool hadn’t dried anywhere on her face and left nasty white residue behind. She uses a hand to feel over her face before turning in the chair to look at the window. Her heart skips a beat. It looked like the sun was starting to rise. It was light enough that she could barely see the forest beyond the house. She leaps up from the chair and moves closer to the window. A smile breaks out over her face. She had somehow slept through the entire night. The most exciting fact was that Reiji had told her she’d be able to go home today!

Her heart races with excitement. Still, something was nagging her. She hadn’t thought she was that tired. She stiffens as a sickening realization dawns on her. If she had really been out cold, Laito could have done something to her. She immediately starts to check over her body. She was feeling oddly numb now that she was standing, which only served to frighten her more. Something was terribly wrong with her body. Something had happened, but her clothes weren’t in any more disarray than what she thought would be normal from sleeping. She jumps when she hears the lock clicking. She glances over her shoulder in the direction of the door. Unconsciously, she lifts her arms up to cover her chest. Despite her panic, it still felt so weird to not wear anything beneath her clothes.

It doesn’t come as a surprise to see Reiji standing in the doorway. A jolt of pure panic runs through her when he closes the door behind him. She turns to fully face him, still carefully covering her chest. Every warning bell was going off in her mind. She was relieved to not hear him lock the door. She offers him a weak smile. “I, umm… I get to go home today, right?”

He doesn’t say anything. Instead, he slowly starts toward the desk. His eyes lock with the faint smudge marks. Her heart skips a beat. She didn’t think it would be noticeable across the room. In fact, she couldn’t see them from where she was standing. She watches as his hand reaches out. His fingertips lightly touch the top of the desk. She felt like her heart had stopped completely. She unconsciously sucks a deep breath in and holds it. After a few seconds, she releases it. She softly clears her throat, but he doesn’t look up at her. His face was unreadable, so she couldn’t tell if he angry or not. She didn’t think he was, but she felt an overwhelming need to apologize.

“I….umm… I didn’t… I’m sorry.”

“You can’t even apologize correctly, can you?” He coldly asks. Mai flinches. “Why bother apologizing when you clearly don’t mean it?”

It felt almost like he was sneering at her, but his voice didn’t hold any tones that let her know that he was upset at her. She felt so bewildered. She had no idea what to even say to him. His eyes slowly raise to meet hers. His voice doesn’t change at all. “I know you are with one of the triplets, but your manners need to be addressed.”

“I’m… I…What?” She had no idea that Laito was a triplet. This shocked her more than she wanted to admit. She knew that him and Ayato looked eerily similar, so she had figured that they were twins. It suddenly occurs to her that she hadn’t denied being with Laito. She flinches. She should have denied being with him right off the bat instead of stuttering like a fool. At least, she assumed Reiji was silently referring to Laito. To try to make it as believable as possible, she forcibly says, “I’m not with Laito, if that’s what you mean.”

He lets out a low scoffing sound. “I have no desire to hear about what you believe or not. Tell me how you plan to fix your mistake.”

She can only stare at him. He seems to be patiently waiting for her response. The few minutes of silence only serve to grate on her nerves. It would appear that he was upset about a few smudges on the desk, though she couldn’t fully understand why. She finally manages to say, “I tried to clean it up. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I just got so tired.”

She was happy that she hadn’t made it sound like a snarl. He releases a slow sigh, and he closes his eyes. She flinches when he lifts a hand, but he only uses it to push his glasses up. “It is a wonder what he sees in you. There is nothing worth mentioning, and your skills in everything are sorely lacking.”

“That’s rude!” She snaps. She tenses when he slowly starts to make his way around the desk. She quickly moves around the opposite side. He pauses almost instantly, and she mimics him by stopping as well. A brief smile spreads over his face, but it’s gone before she can really be sure she saw it. She shudders at how alike Laito and Reiji seemed to be. She watches as he closes his eyes once again.

“I see.”

She barely resists the urge to ask him what he meant by that. She had a feeling that he wouldn’t answer, even if she did ask. His voice is back to a polite undertone. “I suppose I can forgive you if you clean up your mess.”

“I tried though.” She argues, but she instantly regrets it. She searched his face for traces of anger, but she didn’t find anything. She had a feeling that was worse than if he were to yell at her. He lifts his hand and snaps his fingers. She jumps when the old man from the door seems to appear beside her. She spins to face him and steps away. Her heart was racing painfully. She knew that vampires weren’t normal, but she didn’t think there were more than six in the house. The thought of more than that sent a shiver down her spine. That’s when she noticed the old man was holding something. There were several different cleaning supplies. There was even a polish. She turns her attention back to Reiji to see he had stalked closer to her while her attention was divided. She quickly presses her back into the book shelves. A frown flashes over his face, but she doesn’t let him say anything. “That is an insane amount of cleaning for just a few smudges.”

His voice has a strange sound to it that Mai can’t place. It sounded almost like anger. “Where are your hands?”

She stares at him silently for a few seconds before it registers what he had meant. Her hands were on either side to brace herself against the bookshelf. She slowly pulls her hands away, though she isn’t sure why. He takes a step toward her, and she unintentionally jerks back harder into the bookcase. The looser books shift, and her heart skips a beat. Thankfully, they don’t come down on her. She lets out a sigh of relief. She turns her attention back to Reiji, though she’s careful to try to keep an eye on the old man. The old man hadn’t moved an inch since he had appeared. His head was bowed, and he stilled held out the cleaning supplies. Mai found it to be a completely chilling sight. The sound of Reiji’s deep voice draws her full attention back to him. “Clean the desk, chair, and the bookcases. I don’t want a filthy human’s scent hanging around long after you are gone.”

She once again finds herself staring at him in stunned silence. She didn’t even know how she was supposed to argue against that. He holds out a hand, but she presses harder against the bookshelf. She flinches when he releases a sigh. “Give me your hand.”

“No.” She states with as much strength as she can muster. She hated that Reiji seemed to frighten her so bad. A frown passes over his face again. His hand lashes out to grab her forearm. She tries to keep him from pulling it forward, but it was like she hadn’t even tried to fight against him. With his free hand, Reiji reaches out to the side with his palm facing upward. Somehow, the old man produces what looks like a short whip. It was only a couple of feet long and looked more like an antennae than a whip to her. She jerks back into the bookcase again. The shelves dig into her from behind. It’s not yet painful, but it’s uncomfortable. Her heart had felt like it had stopped. There was no way she was going to let him hit her with that!

She aims a kick at his shin, but he jerks her forward by her forearm, preventing her from getting much momentum. His elbow catches her in the diaphragm, effectively winding her. Her back collides with the bookshelf once again, only harder this time. She flinches when the sound of thumping echos around her. A heavy book falls and bounces off of one of her shoulders. She bites back a whimper of pain. She closes her eyes tightly, fully expecting a book to hit her in the head. To her utter relief, it never happens, but a sickening, slapping sound makes her snap open her eyes. It looked like her forearm had been cleanly split. Red was slowly bubbling up from the wound. It wasn’t deep, nor was it long. In fact, it looked like it was only a few inches long.

The weirdest part was that she knew she should feel the pain from being hit by his whip, but she didn’t feel anything. Her wide eyes rise to meet his. He lets out a sigh. “It seems like I may have used too much. Human bodies are so unpredictable.”

Anger surges through her. This had to be why her body didn’t feel right. It wasn’t normal to be so numb! The way she had fallen asleep hadn’t been normal either! “What did you do to me?!”

He scoffs and releases her arm. “Clean up your mess. Should you get blood on the floor, you are cleaning the entire floor as well.”

She clenches her hands into white knuckled fists. He simply stares down at her with what appears to be a patient look. That only infuriated her more. She opens her mouth to snap at him, but he closes his eyes and says, “If you clean up your mess, I will arrange for you to go home today.”

She immediately shuts her mouth tightly and settles for glaring at him. The thought of going home was just too tempting, but she didn’t know if she could trust him. He opens his eyes to watch her with that infuriatingly patient look. She slowly releases a breath that she didn’t even know she had been holding and turns to grab the cleaning supplies from the eerie old man. The sooner this humiliating task was done; the sooner she could get home.

____________________________________________________________________

She was livid at this point. It had felt like hours had gone by. She had ended up cleaning every inch of the room and reorganizing the books. She had tried not to think about how embarrassing it was to scrub without a bra. Every time she did something that wasn’t satisfactory to Reiji, he’d whip her across her hands or arms. She would flinch, but she still couldn’t feel it. He would mutter something under his breath at her reaction, but he would simply ignore her questions when she asked. She had eventually given up and focused on cleaning as fast as she could.   
It seemed like she was finally done. She had built up a light sweat, which just made her feel even more self conscious. Yui’s t-shirt seemed to be sticking to her more than she liked. She was grateful that the shallow wounds on her arms didn’t bleed over onto the floor. The last thing she wanted was to have to clean the floor all over again. That was the most humiliating part. She had to clean on her hands and knees while the old man and Reiji watched. She found that she hated Reiji the most out of all of them.

Though, she was sure that it would change at some point. She was bound to run into Laito or Kanato again. She straightens up from the floor close to the door. She turns her attention back to Reiji. He was sitting behind the desk. His eyes were drifting back and forth as he read whatever was in front of him. She didn’t care enough to look at that point. She manages to say calmly. “Can I go?”

His eyes slowly raise to look at her. “It appears the dog can learn new tricks.”

She grits her teeth, but she decides not to comment. She didn’t want to give him a reason to prolong her suffering. She tenses, when she watches him slowly close the book in front of him and lean back. For a brief moment, she thinks he looks almost like a teacher. She flinches at the thought. She couldn’t imagine him trying to shape young minds.

He slowly stands and starts around the desk. She resists the urge to back into the door. The cleaning supplies and the old man had disappeared at some point, but she was worried that, if she touched anything else, he would make her clean everything all over again. “You will personally return those clothes to this house upon cleaning them properly. You will also not tell anyone about what happened here, nor will you tell them that you were here.”

She can only stare at him in disbelief. There was no way that she was ever going to willingly return. She could feel her anger building to the boiling point, but she bites back a retort. There was no way that she was going to stand there and argue with him. She was uncomfortable and just wanted to go home. She was determined to tell the police and her parents about everything. She would inform the police of Yui being held captive, and all the suffering she had only experienced in one day. Mai glares at Reiji. There was no way he would let her go if she told him that. Slowly, she nods at him. It’s silent for a few moments before Reiji says. “You are a pathetic liar. Shall I give you some incentive to not discuss your last twenty-four hours?”

“There is nothing you could give me that would keep me quiet,” Mai sneers at him. Reiji doesn’t make a sound. Dread fills Mai when a thought occurs to her. Maybe he wasn’t referring to giving her something. Maybe he meant to take something away. Still, she wasn’t about to give into his demands. She keeps a glare on his face, but she choses not to say anything to him.

“I will know; should you decide to tell anyone.” He had slowly approached the door. She quickly steps away from him. She didn’t want to be within striking distance of him ever again. She was sure that her wounds would start to hurt eventually. Without saying another word, he opens the door and steps to the side. He makes a shallow gesture for her to step in front of him. She hesitates, but this was the first indication that she had that she was going to go home. She had noticed something about Reiji. He had been cruel to her, and he had simply not given her an answer to her questions. Yet, it appeared that he hadn’t actually lied to her. He had told her that if she made a mess she would be required to clean it up. He had said that she would go home today, and it looked like he was allowing her to do just that. Slowly, she makes her way toward the door. Her eyes never leave his body. Her heart starts to race the closer that she gets to him. She jumps when he finally says, “If you would kindly hurry, I have things I must do. Your pathetic attempts at cleaning have put me behind schedule.”

Mai flinches and hurries past him into the hallway. She jumps when she thought she heard Laito chuckling. She turns to look up and down the hallway, but, to her relief, there isn’t anyone. The door shuts with a soft clicking noise, causing Mai to tense and step as far away from Reiji as she can. It’s silent between them for a few awkward seconds before Reiji speaks once more. “Do you need to be told everything you have to do?”

She flinches and steps away from him. He turns and starts down the hallway, in the opposite direction that she remembered the living room being. She opens her mouth and closes it before she turns and hurries toward the living room. It comes as a huge relief to see the living room empty. She had thought, with her current luck, that Shuu would still be laying on a couch. She pauses and looks back down the long empty hallway. Maybe she should go back for Yui. She flinches. Yui had probably been up all night, and Mai wasn’t sure if she wanted to deal with Ayato. It’d be better if the police were the ones to deal with it. She quickly makes her way down the stairs, trying not to feel guilty. 

She’s not sure if she should be relieved to find the front door wide open or not, but she figured that it was Reiji’s doing. There was even a pair of shoes sitting beside the door. Light was pouring in through the door, so it helped to ease her nerves. She glances back just to make sure she wasn’t followed. She is cautious to step through the door. The last thing she needed was a repeat of the night before’s events. The sight of the fountain makes her flinch. She glances around unsure of what to do. The road leading to the house was empty, but the gate was open. With a sinking feeling, she realized that she had been hoping for a ride, but it wasn’t looking like she was going to get one. The sun was shining brighter than before. She takes a deep breath and sets out like she had done the night before. She wasn’t about to stay any longer than she needed too.

______________________________________________________________________

Her mouth and throat felt even drier. She regretted not asking for some water before she left. Whatever was numbing her before had worn off. Her entire body was in so much pain. She still felt heavy, and her head was throbbing with each step. Sweat was getting into the numerous cuts on her arms and hands, making them sting painfully. She had been walking along the road for so long that she was starting to think that she would never reach the town. She has to push herself to keep walking. Her mind kept going back to her parents. She had been told they were ok, but she needed to see the for herself just to be sure. She comes a bend in the road. Her heart stops when she turns it. She was a lot closer to the city than she thought she was. Despite hurting and feeling exhausted, she starts off in a jog. She was so close to her home.

It was nothing short of relief to finally make it to her front door. She could hear noise inside, but she didn’t care. She quickly shoves the door open. She was just about to call out to her parents, when she realized what the noise was. The crying sound stopped her heart for a moment. She wanted to feel happy that she was home, but the sound was so heartbroken. She slowly makes her way into the house. She finds her mother sitting at the table with her father’s arm around her body. She slowly creeps into the kitchen, though she’s not sure why. She keeps her voice low. “Mom?”

Both of her parents spin around. Looks of mirrored horror and relief fills their faces. Mai flinches when they scoop her up in a hug. She returns the hug trying not to cry. She fails and leans into her parents. They were both talking over the top of each other, but she didn’t even try to listen to what they were saying. She just wanted to hold them. They were ok. Laito hadn’t done anything to them. Her father finally pulls away. He gives her an expectant look, and she immediately tells him almost everything. She tells him about Laito showing up and shoving her against the door. She tells them about waking up Yui’s room. She pauses to beg them for help with Yui, but, to her disappointment, her father waves off her plea. She doesn’t tell them about her kissing Laito in an attempt to have him help her. The fact that she had been tricked was embarrassing. She just tells them that her begging got him to help her. Her father was getting angrier and angrier by the second. She finally finishes with her walk home. It had taken her most of the day. Her mother had gotten her some water, which she had downed as quickly as she could. Her father steps away to call the police.

Her mother hurries her to the car rush her to the hospital, just to be sure that she was truly ok. She tries to argue that she needs clothes, but her mother tells her that she will return and get her some. Mai leans against the door of the car watching everything slide past. She had apologized about losing her phone yet again, but her mother had told her not to worry about it. She wasn’t worried about a phone.

Arriving at the hospital is a blur of motion. She had been asked if she was sexually assaulted, which she had said no to. She ended up with an iv for her dehydration, and thin gauze-like bandages were used to cover up the whip marks and scrapes on her arms. An antiboitic and a pain killer was added to her iv, but she didn’t care what they were called. The police and her father arrived a short time later. She tells them everything aside from the supernatural stuff. She didn’t want them to discredit her statement as hallucinations due to dehydration, though she wasn’t sure they would believe her anyway. She begs them to go help Yui, but it felt like something was off. They continued to ask her the same questions over and over until Mai felt so frustrated that she was starting to cry. To make it even worse, they seemed to brush off the fact that Yui was in trouble. Her mom gives her a kiss to the top of her head when the police finally leave. She watches the doorway feeling helpless. She should have just went back for Yui. Her mother tells her that she was going to go get her some clothes. Mai just nods numbly. Her father was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. His arms were folded over his chest.

She was staring at the blanket that covered the bed. She was still wearing Yui’s clothes. Mai glances up at the clock to see that her entire day had slipped away from her. It was nearing ten p.m. at that point. She finally says, “Dad?”

He makes a soft grunt to let her know that he had heard her. Her gaze drops to her lap. She lightly fiddles with some of the tubing beside her bed. “Can I…. I don’t want to live in this town anymore.”

He sighs softly. She flinches and says quickly. “I mean, I know that you are under contract at your job, but I was thinking that maybe we could… I mean…. We can look into boarding school or something, you know? It’s only for another year, but I can’t go back to that school. I….. I don’t even feel safe at home anymore.”

He doesn’t make a sound. She lifts her gaze up to look at him. He had leaned forward with his hands covering his face. Her heart feels like it’s breaking at the sight. He mutters “I’m sorry Mai. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to protect you. Your mother and I have discussed this. We don’t want you to leave us, but we agreed that it was for the best. We will look into a boarding school tomorrow.”

Pain flickers through her chest, despite asking for it. She nods and opens her mouth to say something when a ringing echoes around the room. Her father grumbles and pulls out his phone. Confusion flickers over her face, before he looks up at Mai. She forces a smile onto her face and waves at him. “I’m in a hospital full of people. Nothing bad can happen to me.”

Her father gives her a worried look, before he stands and answers the phone. He quickly steps out of the room. He had said his boss’ name, which struck Mai as odd. She rolls onto her side and closes her eyes. “Are you tired?”

Every muscle in her body tenses. She abruptly sits up to look toward the door just as the lights start to dim. She considers crying out, but the doctor holds up his hands. He gives her a nervous smile and slowly closes the door until it’s only open a sliver. She reaches out for the call light button, but the doctor quickly says. “Wait, I took over your case. I have somethings to tell you.”

She hesitates for only a minute, but she hits the button. He releases a sigh and moves over to her bed. She scoots as far away from him as she possibly can. He doesn’t seem offended by it. “Well, I’ve only got a few minutes now before the nurse shows up. It’s about your mistake.”

Mai’s eyes narrow at him, but he doesn’t give her a chance to talk. “I found trace amounts of poison in your system. Nothing fatal, but I do think that you would have felt tired and hurt worse than usual. You were poisoned back at the Sakamaki’s household through a puncture wound on your right arm. Mai, I don’t think you understand who you are dealing with. They may seem like teenagers, but they are much more than that.”

“You know what they are,” Mai snaps at him. He sighs and glance at the door then looks back at her.

“Yes, I do. I work for their father. I’m usually called up to take care of the sacrificial brides. I just wanted to tell you that you made the biggest mistake of your life telling the police about what happened.”

There was that phrase again, but she didn’t get a chance to ask him. A knock on the door is the only warning they get before it’s pushed open. Relief fills Mai’s body when she sees that it’s a nurse. Mai gestures to the doctor. “I don’t want him attending to me. Please have him removed.”

The nurse glances between the two of them. She offers Mai a pleasant smile and says. “Now, now, dear. He’s a very good do…”

The doctor laughs good naturedly. “It’s alright! I don’t mind. I’ll send a collegue in to keep up with her.”

He glances back at Mai just as he reaches the door. He gives her an apologetic look that makes her heart stop. It was like he had done something wrong. The nurse helps her get adjusted and tells her that she will only be there for a little while longer, hour at the most. That comes as a huge relief to Mai. The only thing she really wanted was to go home. She rolls onto her side and lets herself relax. Her mother and father return at the same time close to an hour later. Both looked tired, but her mother looked highly upset. Worry bubbles up in Mai’s chest.

“Mom? What happened?”

“It’s fine, Mai,” her mother says with a forced smile. It made Mai feel even worse. Mai stubbornly shakes her head, but the nurse comes in to pull the iv out. It stops Mai from discussing what was going on. She was only distracted for a moment before she glances back at her parents. They were muttering amongst themselves, which only made her even more worried. Various scenarios start to race through her mind at what could be wrong. Finally, the nurse gives her the release forms and tells them to leave when they are ready. Mai takes the clothes her mother had gotten her and hurries to the bathroom. She changes into a pair of black shorts that reach her knees and a plain white t-shirt. Mai couldn’t describe how happy she was to have underwear and a bra again. She hurries to her mother’s car and gets in.

It’s silent on the entire trip back home. Mai kept glancing at her mom. She was trying to respect her mother’s choice to not tell her, but she finally couldn’t stand the silence anymore. “Mom, something happened, didn’t it?”

They had just pulled into the driveway, when her mother nods. Mai’s heart skips a beat. Her mother shuts the car off, but she doesn’t make a move to get out of the car. Instead, she grips the steering wheel tightly. Head lights flash through the car; which lets Mai know her father pull in behind them, but he heads into the house looking troubled.

“We…. we lost our jobs,” Mai’s mom whispers. Shock fills Mai’s body. “We both did.”

“Why?” Mai manages to ask.

“They said that they didn’t have anymore work for us. They said that the grant had been shut down, so our research was now irrelevant. They are going in a different direction and wishes our family the best of luck. They are pulling the funding on your school, and we now need to pay them back for the money that they put forth for you. They said that we didn’t need to go in though. They would just take it out of our next checks, which will eat up almost all of them.”

Mai can only stare at her mother in stunned silence. She had a horrible feeling that this was all her fault. She slowly reaches out to awkwardly pat her mom. Guilt builds in her chest. “It’ll be ok, mom. I can look for a job to try to help out. I don’t…”

Her mom shakes her head. “Don’t worry. We’ll get it figured out.”

She watches her mom exit the car and walk up to the house. Mai leans forward against the dashboard. Why did this have to happen? It didn’t only affect her; it affected her parents, too. This was going too far, but she didn’t know how to fix this. Reiji had once again delivered on his promise.

She had never felt so defeated in her life. She finally manages to pull herself out of her mom’s car and makes her way up the stairs to her house. She makes sure to lock the door. Just as she turns to head to her room, she notices that her bat was back by the door, but it didn’t do anything to help the cold feeling in her stomach. She leaves it there and walks upstairs slowly. She quietly enters her room. Everything was exactly as she had left it, but she felt like everything had changed. She slowly walks to her bed and collapses on top of it.

This was all her fault. She had made her parents lives hell now, and she wondered if Yui was suffering even worse because of her thoughtless actions. She closes her eyes against the tears threatening to spill out. Her body was actually feeling so much better. That was the only upside that she could possibly see right then.

____________________________________________________________________________

A cold hand was touching the scratches on her back. She was laying on her stomach on her bed. Her head was resting on the pillow with her wrapped arms underneath. She slowly opens her eyes. The room was silent. The hand wasn’t touching her anymore, so she shook it off as just her imagination.

“You’re finally awake.”

She jumps and scrambles away. She ends up tumbling off the bed, but she just uses her momentum to roll away. She hurries to her feet to glare towards her bed. Laito was sitting towards the bottom of it. He tilts his head with a playful smile. The streetlights outside her room helped her to see him a little easier. She opens her mouth to call for her parents, but Laito seems to appear before her.

“Ah, ah.” His cold finger brushes her lips, but she flinches away. She quickly steps toward her door.

“Mom! Dad!” She calls out. She doubles her fist and twists to aim a punch at Laito’s cheek when he had reached out to grab her butt. She was livid that he had managed to get into her house, but it didn’t surprise her that he could. His eyes narrow playfully, and he cheerfully says. 

“If they come in here, I’ll kill them and kidnap you. I’ll chain you to my bed and do whatever I want, whenever I want.”

He wraps his arms around himself, and he moans softly. He looked like he was in heaven at the thought. Mai clenches her fists and says as strong as she can. “Get out. You are not welcome here.”

He stops moaning and gives her a curious look, before an amused smile spreads over his face. He moves back to her bed and sits down. Mai shudders at the thought. She would strip the blankets and sheets off when she got him to leave. He playfully pats the bed beside him, but she stubbornly glares at him.

He lets out an exaggerated sigh. “Now, now. Don’t give me that look. I’ll be nice and tell you why that didn’t work. Did you read that vampires can’t enter a house without permission?”

He starts to laugh like it was some sort of joke, which just serves to irritate her more. She doesn’t give him the satisfaction of letting him know that he was right. He snaps his fingers and reaches out to her nightstand. There was a large box sitting there that she hadn’t noticed before. He pulls it into his lap and opens it up. A sweet smell drifts from the box. He holds it out to her, and she glances down to see that it was full of various cookies. She gives him a frustrated look. What was he planning to do with those cookies? She didn’t want anything that came from him or anyone else in the Sakamaki household. He reaches in and takes out a cookie. “I’ll save you some time, nothing you can do will ever hurt me. Though, I don’t mind if you try.”

He takes a bite out of the cookie. Mai scoots toward her door. Her hand rests on the door handle. To her surprise, Laito makes no move to try to stop her. Instead, he leans back to rest one hand on the bed and watches her. He continues to munch on the cookies in his lap. Just as she turns the door handle, he says. “You shouldn’t have crossed Reiji. He told you not to talk about what had happened.”

Dread settles over her. So it was her fault that her parents had lost their jobs. She closes her eyes and pulls open the door. It would be better if she didn’t listen to him. She would only feel worse about her actions. His voice appears right next to her ear. “If you beg, like a good girl, than we might be able to help you.”

His arm appears around her waist before she can leap away. He pulls her back into him and reaches out to shut the door. She immediately starts to wiggle. She opens her mouth to cry out for her parents, but his hand appears over her mouth. She goes limp trying to figure out the best way to get away from him. With his hand so close to her mouth, she figured it’d be easiest to bite him. She was hoping that he wouldn’t like the feeling, but her plans change when he waves her pocket knife inches in front of her face. If she could get that, she could stab him and run. His voice is cheerful when he moves it closer to her throat. This causes her to tense up. For a brief moment, she believes he’s going to cut her throat. Without waiting to see if he was actually going to harm her, she reaches up grabbing his hand tightly. She pulls on his hand while leaning her head as far away from the sharp object as possible.

The hand he is using to keep her quiet pulls her chin up, fully exposing her throat to him. His face was a lot closer to her neck then she was comfortable with him being. Her heart skips a beat, then it starts to race in fear. She didn’t want to get bitten again. His tongue runs along the skin of her throat. She closes her eyes tightly. She wiggles a little harder and opens her mouth as wide as she can. She can’t believe her luck when she feels a part of his hand within biting range. Without a second thought, she bites down as hard as she can. Blood fills her mouth, much to her disgust She hears him making a strange moaning noise and instantly releases him. His hand was blocking her ability to spit the blood out, and she wasn’t about to swallow it. Panic fills her chest. She could feel something pressing into her from behind. She thrashes even harder. She decides to try to shove the blood out between his hand and her mouth, but it doesn’t work out like she wanted. She only ends up with more blood in her mouth. Her mind races in a panic. She didn’t know how vampires were made, but it was clear that biting humans didn’t create their own kind. She silently prays that she didn’t ingest any of Laito’s blood.

Since he wasn’t holding her lower body, she leans it out as far as she can. She kicks at the wall in hopes that her parents will hear it, but he jerks her body back and twists her away from the door. She’s not sure how he does it, but he ends up shutting the door quietly. Her back collides with her bed, and she rolls toward the foot, hoping to roll off, but he seems to know her plans. He catches her mid roll, just as she’s about make it off, and he casually tosses her back toward the middle. She twists onto her stomach and tries to scramble toward the other side, but a weight presses on her back. She could hear a lustful chuckle coming from him. She thrashes around, but the second she tries to scream, his hand presses against the back of her head. She finds herself panicking even worse when her face is shoved hard into her mattress. He seems almost carefree as he starts talking. “I found out that you had been punished by Reiji. I was sad that I wasn’t invited to see your punishment. Still, I wanted to be nice, and I brought you some cookies.”

She screams into the mattress. She sounded so muffled, even to herself. She knew that there was no way her parents would hear her. Her head was hurting, but he just presses more weight onto her back. It felt impossible to breath at all now. Involuntary tears start to escape her eyes, only to be soaked up by the mattress. He continues on, though he has a mock sadness to his voice. “I was just trying to be nice, but you bit me. Wasn’t it thoughtful to bring you a snack, because you fucked up your parents’ lives forever?”

She didn’t want to listen to this. She was already feeling guilty. He releases a sigh, which sets her nerves on end. His voice takes on a biting edge. “Reiji had to deal with the police showing up. Now, Ayato doesn’t want anyone to play with Little Bitch. It’s all your fault. You really know how to ruin people’s lives.”

Her lungs were burning. She was actually starting to worry he was about to suffocate her. She struggles as hard as she can, but it doesn’t seem to matter. “It’s ok though. I don’t need Little Bitch. I have you to have fun with. Right? Aren’t you going to answer me?”

It didn’t matter if she screamed or tried to move her head. His hand was preventing her from nodding or shaking her head. He chuckles, and, thankfully, she’s flipped onto her back. Sweet oxygen rushes down her throat and into her lungs. She lays sprawled out beneath Laito. He gives her an almost, disgustingly loving look. She glares up at him while she pants. He leans down with a smile. Before she can react, his tongue runs along the bottom of one of her eyes. She flinches away from him and shoves hard. He rolls to his side chuckling. She leaps up, moves a few steps away, and spins to face him. He was laying on his side across her bed. He had his head propped up on an arm. She scoots even more out of his reach. Her pocket knife had somehow disappeared again. He grabs another cookie out and pushes the box toward her. She sneers at him. “They are probably poisoned.”

He pointedly takes a bite. He doesn’t say anything to her, which just sends her panic into overdrive. He reaches up pulling his fedora off and drops it on the bed beside his stomach. He uses his free hand to run though his hair. She shuffles back a little bit. She sneers once again. “I hate you.”

“I don’t think you do,” he says almost nonchalantly.

“You’ve done nothing but torture me!” She snaps loudly. She was hoping her parents would hear the yelling, but she instantly regrets it when he gives her a playful smile.

“Are you talking about yesterday? Locking you out?” He was playing dumb, and she was sure they both knew it. Still, Mai just nods. It was better that he admit to something. He releases a sigh and looks up toward the ceiling. “So you didn’t like my punishment?”

 

She can only stare at him in shock. He slowly bites into a cookie, clearly enjoying having stunned her into silence. His green eyes slowly slide back to her. She clenches her fists tightly. She wanted nothing more than to punch him. “Why would you do that?”

He clicks his tongue pretending to think. He finally says, “You played with Subaru.”

“You made me!” She snaps. This was getting ridiculous. She flinches when the smile seems to melt off his face. He had stopped munching on the cookies. His now cold eyes seemed to regard her with an almost calculating look. For a moment, she feels a jolt of fear through her body, but she fights to keep it off her face.

“You had fun with another guy.” His voice was colder than she had ever heard.

Livid anger surges through her. She wants nothing more than to rush forward and punch him in his nose, but she didn’t dare get any closer to him than she already was. “It doesn’t matter if I had fun with Subaru or not! You and I are not together! I can be with whatever guy I want!”

He tilts his head. A smile spreads over her face, and she finds it even scarier than his cold look. He slowly sits up. She takes a step back without thinking about it. He says playfully. “There are a million girls just like you. Don’t you want to use the money I have to help your family?”

Mai seeths. “I’m not like those million other girls. I’m not going to just jump in bed with a guy for such shallow reasons! The only good things about you is your pretty face, your daddy’s money, and his power. Without that, you would just be some douche bag who no one would even want.”

He doesn’t retort. Her heart slows to a stop. Had she gone too far? She hadn’t really seen him stunned into silence. She shifts a little closer to the door. His voice sounds oddly cheerful when he says. “Like I thought. Nothing special.”

“Then why don’t you just give up?” She snaps at him.

“Because I want to see you broke beneath me, begging for more.” He chuckles. Her face flushes, and irritation takes the place of her earlier panic.

“Like hell I will do anything like that with you.” She instantly regrets her choice of words when he stands up abruptly. She lunges for the door, but he once again scoops her up by her waist. He pulls her in close, and his hand settles over her mouth. A rush is all she feels before she instantly feels sick to her stomach. It was like the world was violently spinning around her. It was the same thing that Subaru had done to her. He releases her so suddenly that she stumbles forward. She reaches out to steady herself on a chair. Her heart starts to race at the soft fabric beneath her hand. She looks around the unfamiliar room. It was pretty bare and colored in a darker green color. There was a bed against the wall behind her and a fireplace to her right. She straightens up trying to fight the sick feeling. Her eyes narrow due to the light. It wasn’t bright, but it was brighter than her room. Her heart races when she realizes that she can’t see Laito anywhere.

It doesn’t matter where she looks, he wasn’t there. She shivers. She was sure that this room was larger than Yui’s. She turns quickly to the door, but she’s not surprised to find it locked. She turns to check the windows. To her relief, they are unlocked. She picks the largest, quickly opens it and leans out. Her relief is short lived when she realizes that she’s on the second floor. She flinches at the thought of jumping out. There was no way that she would make it out unscathed. She looks out over the forest with a dreadful feeling. She was back in the Sakamaki house, but she was in a room she didn’t recognize. She flinches when she realizes she wouldn’t be able to recognize a vast majority of their large house. She spins around to look around, only to find Laito standing only inches behind her. She presses herself back without a thought, but she’s grateful that she doesn’t lose her balance. She was sure that Laito wouldn’t help her if she did fall. He casts a playful grin her way and gestures to the room around him. “Welcome to my room.”

The sick feeling only gets stronger. She had tried not to think of that outcome. He steps closer. She reaches up to push him away, but he doesn’t seem to be paying much attention. His hands slowly reach out toward her. She presses harder against the hard frame behind her in an attempt to put distance between them. Thankfully, his hands come to rest on the frame rather than her, though they are much closer to her body than she would like. He doesn’t lean into her as much as she thought he would, which comes as a relief. She settles a glare on his face. Her mind races desperately as she tries to figure out how she could possibly get out of this mess.

“I don’t want to be here,” she says softly. “You are going to do something disgusting to me.”

He chuckles for a moment. It was clear that this was very amusing to him. His face slowly morphs into a clearly fake loving look. He says playfully. “I would never do anything to hurt you.”

She grits her teeth tightly. Disbelief at his words filled her chest. She couldn’t believe that he was saying that after everything he did. She reaches out to shove him. “You are nothing but a liar.”

He leans in the second she starts to push on him. His body presses her tightly against the frame of the window. Pain races through her body when it starts to dig into her upper thighes, just below her butt. It hadn’t escaped her notice that he could easily push her out the window, and that was the last thing she wanted to happen. As if he read her thoughts, he presses on her a little harder, and she awkwardly grabs the window frame between her legs with one hand and a fist full of his shirt with the other. If she was going down, she was going to drag him with her. She glares hatefully up at him, but he just leans his face closer to hers. She jerks back and turns her face just a little. His breath brushes her cheek.

“I haven’t lied to you.”

“I want to go home.”

He chuckles. “It won’t matter if you scream here. No one will help you.”

That sends a chill down her spine. What exactly was he planning to do to her? She tries to keep the tremor from voice. “What do you want?”

Relief floods over her when he pulls back a little. She wasn’t pressed as tightly against the window. She quickly lets go of him once she is sure that she has her balance. He chuckles and finally pulls completely away from her. He slowly stalks to the bed and sits on the edge. Silence settles over them. Nervousness bubbles up in Mai’s stomach. How could she get out of this mess? She was alone with him in his room. That could only mean trouble. Mai flinches when he chuckles. He pats his bed, but she stubbornly shakes her head. He just casts a smile her way. He reaches up to play with the rim of his fedora, though she wasn’t sure when he had gotten it or put it back on. “I want to sleep with you.”

She couldn’t stop the look of disgust from taking over her face. His smile only gets wider. She practically snarls. “I’m not sleeping with you. You are disgusting. I’m not a whore.”

He lets out an overly cheerful chuckle. He doesn’t look away from her though. His voice is full of excitement. “I’ll take you up on that challenge.”

“It’s not a challenge. I’m telling you that I won’t sleep with you.”

He continues to talk like he hadn’t even heard her. “Alright. I’ll take you home, but I want something in return.”

She can’t contain herself. She sneers. “Let me guess you want me to fall in love with you. This isn’t a movie, asshole. This is real life. I could never love you.”

His chuckle is low and slightly husky. It was like she was turning him on instead of pissing him off.

“You can’t buy love,” Mai mutters. For a moment, a look of irritation spreads over his face, but, like all negative emotions, it seems to disappear before she could be sure of it.

“If you don’t want to walk home alone late at night, then promise me something.”

She frowns at him. There was no way she was going to acknowledge his request, but she didn’t put it past him to try to make her walk through the creepy woods. After all, he had already tried to make her do it once. He didn’t seem to need her to acknowledge it though. He just leans forward and smiles. “Let’s be friends.”

She frowns at him. This was a trap, and she knew it. She watches him silently for a few minutes, but she couldn’t figure out any hidden meaning in the simple request. It didn’t seem like he was planning to give in either. She didn’t want to spend the rest of the night trapped in his room. She knew that eventually he would get bored and move in on her again. He had already been touchy feely. Finally, she sighs. She had a feeling that she was going to regret it, but she says, “Fine. We can try to be friends. You do know what a friend is don’t you?”

He gives her a feigned hurt look. He’s suddenly in front of her. His hands grab her shoulders painfully. “Of course I know what it means to be a friend. This will be so much fun. I’ll make you love me.”

She tries to jerk back, but his fingers just dig into her skin. She bites out. “That wasn’t part of the deal! Friends don’t try to make the other love them!”

He leans in to whisper into her ear huskily. “You never said it wasn’t off the table though.”

She doesn’t get a chance to reply. The sickening feeling comes back. It felt like the world was spinning, and she found herself back in her room. She reaches up to press her hands to her mouth, when bile rises up. She closes her eyes tightly.

Cold hands trace up her spine. She jerks violently and quickly steps away from him. She turns to face him only to find dark shapes in her room. She hadn’t realized how dark her room was. She squints to look for Laito, but she couldn’t see him anywhere. She clenches her fist and reaches up to touch her forehead with her knuckles. She was regretting telling him that she would be friends with him. That was like welcoming him into her life with open arms. Still, she was sure there was a way to get free of him. She just had to figure out the best way to do it.

She flinches and lets out a sigh. There was so much that she had to look into tomorrow. She slowly makes her way over to her bed and lays on her side. She planned to find out about the white women that she kept seeing, and she would try to figure the best way out of her deal with Laito. She also wanted to find out what a ‘sacrificial bride’ was, and how it was related to Yui. She finds herself staring at the box of cookies that was sitting on her nightstand once her eyes had adjusted. Her heart skips a beat when she realizes that her pocket knife and phone was sitting on the top of the box. Relief floods through her body, and she considers checking her phone over, but she shakes her head. She’d tell her parents that she had gotten her phone back in the morning. For now, she would try to figure out how she was going to get her research done.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! :D I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Time feels like it has been flying by. She had spent the first week of her currently Laito free month hoping that Yui would show up, but that hope had slowly started to drift away as the days drifted lazily by without any sign of her friend. She tried to not let it bother her, but she found herself unable to think any positive thoughts, while she could easily imagine the worst case scenario was happening. She tried to use her negative thoughts to help her feel determined to look into the issues at hand. After all, she had plenty of things that she could look into, but she didn’t have any sort of motivation. A few days into her free month, her parents had informed her that they had set enough into savings that they would be alright for at least a few months. It came as a relief when her father found a part time job to help with some of the bills. Her mother decided to stay home for the time being to motivate Mai to do online school work. At least, that’s what they told Mai. She suspected that her mom stayed, so she could keep a close eye on Mai. Slowly, Mai was adapting to being back in the daylight.

The more she looked back at what had been happening for months; the more it seemed like just a simple nightmare. She hadn’t seen the women in white since the last time she had seen Laito. It helped her feel like she could almost forget about it, but she found herself unable to simply ignore Yui. After what had happened with her parent’s jobs, she couldn’t help but feel guilty. Maybe Yui was in serious trouble due to Mai’s interference. She finds herself slowly running fingers over her forearms. She was grateful that the marks had healed without leaving any scars, though she felt like they might have healed a lot quicker than they should have. She quickly pushes that thought out of her head.

Mai leans back against the couch with a sigh. Her mother was in the kitchen humming softly, and the smell of cooked food was drifting throughout the house. Mai’s stomach growls loudly. Lately, the portions had been getting smaller and smaller, but Mai wasn’t about to complain. The food was still amazingly good, and she at least had food to eat. She glances at the laptop her parents had told her to use for school work. It was only a year old, and they had gotten it for their last job. Mai winces at the thought. She had finished all the homework she had for the day, and she found herself feeling cramped up in the house. The month had slipped by without her truly noticing it, and she had spent most of that time cooped up in her house.

She closes her eyes and lets her head fall back onto the cushion behind her. Maybe she should look into what a ‘sacrificial bride’ was. She could always look more into the vampire’s history. Maybe she will actually find something useful. She flinches at all the ways to kill vampires that she had found before. It had been a broad hurried search. She hadn’t looked that deep to see how much was modern fiction and how much was actual fact. The thought caused her to slowly open her eyes to stare up at the ceiling.

Should she look into the Sakamaki lineage first? It would be better if she knew more about the enemy than just the history of their species. Their family tree might be public record since their father was a politician. Usually, they weren’t allowed many secrets. At least, she didn’t think they were. With a sigh, she pulls herself back up into a sitting position. She stares at the tv screen in front of her. It was playing a romantic comedy that she had forgotten the name of the moment she started it. She had no idea what was going on, since it hadn’t been able to hold her interest either. Her eyes watch the main character making a fool of himself with a frown. Her thoughts weren’t on what he was doing. 

Should she go to see if she can catch Yui before school? She immediately flinches at the thought. That would be asking for trouble. Yui lived with the brothers, so it was only reasonable that she went to school with them. Mai’s eyes drift back to the closed laptop sitting only a few feet away on an end table. If they hadn’t harassed Mai by now, then maybe they wouldn’t bother her if she went to see Yui? Maybe Laito hadn’t shown up because he was bored with her? She had actually agreed to be friends with him. That sounded too good to be true. After all, his threat of making her fall for him still hung in the air. She needed to be prepared for the worst case scenario anyway. Slowly, she turns her back to the laptop and closes her eyes once again. She tries to listen to the laughter on the tv and the sound of her mom cooking in the other room, but her thoughts didn’t seem to want to quiet down. With a frustrated sigh, she abruptly sits up and snatches the laptop off the end table. She sets it in her lap before opening it and proceeding to boot it back up. It was time that she actually start her search.

After an hour of searching, she had found out things about vampires she hadn’t even thought of. There was a lot more history to them than she thought, though she was really only familiar with the more modern vampires. A thrill of excitement rushes through her body at each piece of new information she came across. She found that even if it didn’t help her in the long run, it was still interesting to her. She jumps when she feels someone tap her on the shoulder. She looks up to see a tired smile on her dad’s face. Her heart suddenly feels heavy. He gently coaxes her into the kitchen, so they can eat as a family. The talk around the table is minimum, and her dad goes straight to bed. Mai’s mother looked worried, so Mai gently convinced her to head to bed as well.

She listens to her mother’s steps moving slowly up the stairs. Once it sounds like she’s made it all the way up, Mai starts to clean up and put the leftover food in tupperware to put in the refrigerator. Once again, her mind wanders to Yui. Mai desperately tries to convince herself that her friend was alright, but she couldn’t stop the bad feeling, which been hanging over her for the last few weeks, from taking over. A knock on her front door causes her to jump yet again. She twists her body to face the direction of the door, and every muscle in her body tenses. She had been slowly cleaning, so it was already dark outside. For a hope filled moment, Mai desperately hopes that it’s Yui. She tries to crush that hope. It was unlikely that her friend would come to visit after a month. Still, she quickly bolts to the door and reaches out to open it. The moment her hand touches the cool metal door handle, it feels like someone threw ice cold water over her head. She jerks her hand back to her chest. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest. She had almost made another mistake. What if it was Laito or Kanato? It could even be a dangerous human. She jumps when a soft knock echoes through the door again. Mai reaches down to scoop up the bat that had taken up permanent residence by the door. She quickly goes to the living room to cautiously peek out the window. The street lights help her to see a petite blonde slowly making her way down the stairs. Hope fills Mai’s chest at the sight.

She quickly bolts to the door and pulls it open. She couldn’t believe her luck! She could finally ask Yui about some of the things that had been floating around her mind. She wouldn’t make the mistake of not consulting Yui this time. She planned to include Yui in her plans from now on, and, together, they would be able to defeat Laito and the others. Mai drops the bat beside the door before pulling it open. By that time, Yui had made it halfway across the small yard. Mai quickly says “Yui!”

She flinches at how loud her voice had sounded. She glances over her shoulder to listen for any sound that would come from having alerted her parents. Her mother had a low opinion of Yui, since she blamed Mai’s friend for everything that had happened. She breathes a sigh of relief when she doesn’t hear her parents moving around, and she turns her attention back to her friend, who was now facing her with a slightly stunned look. Without a second thought, Mai bolts out and lunges at Yui. She wraps the petite blonde up in a tight hug, while Yui awkwardly attempts to hug her back. Mai quickly pulls away and gives her friend an excited smile. “I thought you’d never come!”

Yui gives her a sheepish look. “I had a lot of tests going on at school.”

Mai flinches at the thought of tests, but she gestures back toward her house. “Come in! I’ve still got some dishes and stuff to do. Are you hungry? We just finished eating, but I can warm it back up. It can’t be that cold yet.”

Yui offers a weak smile, but she shakes her head. “I’m not hungry, but I’d like to be able to talk to you.”

Once they make it back inside where it is brighter, Mai tries to discreetly glance over Yui. She couldn’t see any visible wounds, but that just made Mai worry more about what the uniform was covering up. Yui flinches at the bright light in the kitchen, but she insists on helping Mai with the dishes and general cleaning. They finish up in silence before Mai gets both of them something to drink. Yui takes a cup of water, while Mai had gotten a soda pop. They settle across the table from each other, and Mai finds herself eager to talk to Yui about future plans. First though, they had to figure out their current situation. She takes a moment to try to decide what to ask first, but Yui seems to want to talk first. She had only let the silence stretch for a few seconds before she says softly. “Thank you for trying to help me. I’m sorry about what happened with your family.”

Mai grimaces at both the painful memories and the painful look on Yui’s face. Dread builds in Mai’s chest. Something bad must have happened to Yui, and it was all Mai’s fault for acting without thinking things through. Guilt mixes with the dread, making Mai start to feel sick to her stomach. She needed to think things through to their consequences a lot better than she had been doing. She tries to force the sick feeling away by focusing on her friend’s downturned face. Yui’s eyes were locked with the table top. She was wearing a frown that sent a jolt of worry through the already horrible mixture of emotions roiling in Mai’s stomach, giving it a sour feel. It was then that Mai decided what she wanted to ask first. Her voice comes out a lot weaker than she had intended it to sound, but she manages to ask. “Did Ayato hurt you?”

A sad smile spreads over Yui’s face, and her sad crimson eyes lift to meet Mai’s worried brown ones. It looked like she was about to start tearing up. Mai grips the soda can tightly, causing it to make a loud noise. The sound seems to spur Yui into talking. “No. Well, I mean, not more than he has done before. He’s just been….. Overprotective.”

Mai has to resist the urge to roll her eyes at Yui’s choice of words. She closes her eyes and lets her head fall down onto her arms on the table. “What has he done?”

It’s quiet for so long that Mai slowly opens her eyes and lifts her head to find Yui’s face had turned a deep red color. Confused, Mai straightens her posture back up and finds herself only staring at Yui, who wouldn’t meet Mai’s gaze. Slowly, Mai reaches out to awkwardly pat Yui on the forearm. The girl flinches beneath Mai’s touch, so Mai quickly pulls her hand back. Mai softly asks, “Are you….ok?”

Yui’s face only seems to go a startlingly deeper red. Worry begins to eat away at Mai’s chest and stomach. Had something unspeakable happened to Yui? She watches as Yui’s head drops so close to the table that it looked like she was about to hit her forehead off the hard surface. Luckily, she doesn’t. Her blonde hair was now covering her face from Mai’s view. Mai can only stare at Yui, completely unsure on what she should do. Slowly, she asks. “Yui?”

She can hear Yui muttering something, but Mai can barely hear her. Mai leans a little closer and catches the last few words. “....with me.”

“What?” Mai asks softly. Yui flinches like Mai had yelled at her, which makes Mai jerk away completely. Her chair makes a loud scraping noise, which sets her heart racing. “I didn’t mean… I’m sorry!”

Mai flinches at how loud her voice sounded. It was like it was echoing off the walls. She sees Yui quickly shaking her head. The blonde finally looks up at Mai and waves her hand. “No, no! It has nothing to do with you.”

They both tense when a worried voice calls down the stairs. “Mai?”

Mai gestures for Yui to be quiet, quickly hurries to her feet and rushes to the stairs to look up at her mother. She gives her an awkward smile and says, “Sorry, mom! A friend from school drop by to tell me how things are going.”

Mai’s eyes were still used to the light from the kitchen, so it made it hard to tell what expression her mother was wearing. She could only hope that her mother was too tired to care that it was Yui. She watches her mother’s dark silhouette shift a little. Dread fills Mai’s chest. Was her mother going to ask if it was Yui? Her mother finally starts to talk again in a clearly worried tone. “Is it.. Are you ok?”

Mai gives her mother an awkward smile and nods her head. “I’m fine, mom. We will try to be quieter. Sorry.”

The dark shape of her mother seems to hesitate leaving. Finally, she hears a soft sigh, and her mother mutters a strained good night. Mai releases a breath she didn’t even know that she had been holding. Her mother knew it was Yui, but she hadn’t shooed Mai’s friend out. Mai was worried about her mother overhearing the conversation that she planned to have with Yui. It wouldn’t bode well for the two girls, and she was positive that it would only turn into a huge mess. Mai quickly returns to the kitchen to see that Yui’s face was no longer a deep red. Mai sits across the table from Yui and awkwardly tries to smile. Yui doesn’t return it, which quickly melts Mai’s away. An awkward silence quickly settles between the two of them before Yui suddenly blurts out. “Ayato and I had… had…. You know…”

Mai simply stares at Yui not catching on right away. Yui blushes once again and clears her throat. She was behaving the same way Mai had done when she had told Yui not to sleep with Ayato at school. Understanding comes slowly to Mai. “Oh…. Oh!”

A blush creeps over Mai’s face. Mai clears her throat and looks down at her hands, which she was fiddling with her fingers on the table. Another awkward silence settles over the two of them. Mai wasn’t sure what she should say after that seemingly huge reveal. That just complicated things beyond what Mai ever imagined happening. Mai tries to fight the feeling of dread from overwhelming her. Finally, she manages to say. “So, there was something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Yui simply nods, but she doesn’t look up at Mai. Mai takes a deep breath and slowly releases it. There was so much that she wanted to ask Yui, but she was worried about time. She glances at the clock on the oven over Yui’s shoulder to see that it was close to when school would be starting. She turns her attention back to Yui and says the first thing that she can think of. “Since you’ve been with them, have you seen…. Weird things?”

Yui’s eyes snap up to meet with Mai. Her eyes were wide and hopeful. Yui suddenly leaps to her feet. Mai flinches at the loud scraping noise the chair makes. “You’ve seen the woman in the purple dress, too?”

Mai’s heart starts to sink. That wasn’t the answer that she had been hoping for. Mai slowly shakes her head. Yui’s face flushes a light pink color. She sinks back into the chair and hangs her head once again. Guilt fills Mai’s chest at the look of complete despair on Yui’s face. She hears Yui softly ask, “am I going crazy, Mai? That woman isn’t actually there. She disappears moments after I look at her. No one but I can see her. I don’t think she’s an angel or anything either. I’m afraid to ask Ayato about her.” 

Sympathy for Yui fills Mai’s chest. She knew how Yui felt right then. Mai softly describes the women in white that she had seen. It seemed like the more she told Yui about the woment; the more the girl looked relieved that she wasn’t the only one seeing things. Mai carefully describes what she can remember of the women she had seen. Finally, she ends with. “Have you heard anything about something like this?”

Yui shakes her head. Mai resists the urge to sigh yet again. She had been doing a lot of that already. She had been hanging so much on Yui knowing something. Still, there were other things that Mai wanted to know, and she was sure that Yui had the answers to these questions. She settles a look on Yui and takes a deep breath. She felt like she would be able to handle Laito better if she knew about him a bit better. She didn’t really believe that Laito had told the truth during their game. She decides to start with something simple, so it didn’t look like she was only interested in Laito. “Hey, Yui. I have some questions about the Sakamaki’s.”

Yui gives her an unsure look, but she nods her head. Mai hesitates for a moment and then proceeds to ask Yui about each of the brothers starting with Ayato.

____________________________________________________________________________

Her eyes were starting to hurt, and her head felt heavy. Mai’s mother had dropped by a few times to check on them. The first time she saw Yui, she had a look of disapproval on her face, but she hadn’t said anything. Mai had a feeling that her mother would be lecturing her in the morning. Mai brings her attention back to her friend. It was nearing two a.m., and Mai found it harder and harder to stay awake. In fact, she found it even hard to focus on their conversation. Yui gives her an unsure smile. It had been silent between them for the last few minutes. Mai had learned a lot about the family that she didn’t know. Laito hadn’t actually lied. Subaru was the youngest. It came as a surprise to Mai that Shuu was the oldest and not Reiji. She didn’t know much about the two, and Yui didn’t seem to know much about any of the brothers other than Ayato. She had interacted with them, but Ayato seemed to be more possessive than Mai had thought. Yui had explained how the brothers all had poor relationships with each other. It disappointed her that Yui didn’t know how to best handle Laito, but she just brushed it off. Yui had helped Mai understand something that had been bothering her for a while. She was told that Ayato, Laito, and Kanato were triplets, like Reiji had mentioned. Yui had explained that they all looked different because there were three different mothers, though she couldn’t tell Mai the names of their mothers.

That dropped Mai off to the next point. She gives Yui a serious look. “Yui, do you really want to get away from them? If you do, I think we can come up with a plan to get free of them.”

Yui doesn’t answer. Her crimson eyes drop back to the table. The longer the silence stretches on, the more Mai’s stomach twists painfully. She wanted to tell Yui that this type of relationship wasn’t healthy. She wanted to tell Yui that she had to leave as soon as she could, but Mai knew that she couldn’t force the blonde to leave. Unintentionally, Mai asks in a soft voice. “Do you love Ayato?”

Yui nods once. Mai releases a slow sigh. She closes her eyes and decides to just continue on with her final question. “What is a sacrificial bride?”

It seems almost like Mai had struck Yui. She flinches hard, which causes Mai to open her eyes. She finds Yui staring intently at the table. It seemed like she found the table more interesting than the conversation. Mai decides to sit patiently and wait for Yui to be ready to tell her what she knew, despite the desperate need to know. Yui finally starts to shake her head. “I don’t really know. I’m afraid to ask Ayato. He’s called me that a couple of times, so I know it has to do with me.”

Mai couldn’t shake the feeling that Yui knew more than she was letting on. Worry and sympathy mix in her stomach. The forlorn look on Yui’s face was absolutely heartbreaking. Silence settles over them again. Mai finally closes her eyes and says slowly. “I don’t know why you’d want to stay. I guess I don’t share your feelings toward them.”

Yui giggles softly and says. “Has Laito been to visit you lately?”

Mai wrinkles her nose and shakes her head. “Thank god.”

She glances at Yui with a sudden thought. Yui had lived with them for quite a while now. She couldn’t help but wonder if Yui had figured out the best way to defend herself against them. Mai barely represses the flinch. The thought of Yui trying to defend herself was almost comical. It didn’t seem possible that Yui would even try. She quickly asks. “So, does the religious thing really work?”

Yui flinches and shakes her head. She digs around in one of her pockets and pulls out a silver rosary, which she sets on the table. Mai can’t stop herself from reaching out to gently pick it up like it was made of glass. “Wow, Yui. This is beautiful!”

She smiles sadly. “My father gave me that.”

Mai glances up and back down to the rosary she was cradling in her hands. Yui sounded so sad when she said that. Mai slowly returns it back to Yui, who says. “All it seems to do is irritate Ayato. He said that there are very few things that could hurt him, but he wouldn’t tell me what they were.”

They lapse back into silence. A bout of tiredness washes over Mai. She tries to repress the yawn, but it manages to escape. She gives Yui a tiredly apologetic smile. “Thank you, Yui. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

She stands up, but she’s startled when Yui reaches across the table to grab a tight grip on Mai’s forearm. She says softly. “Wait, about those women. Maybe we can ask Ayato.”

Mai grimaces at the thought and shakes her head. “I’d rather not. The last thing I want to hear about is the fact that I’m losing my mind from an asshole.”

Yui giggles once again, before she gives Mai a hopeful look. “Well, I do know someone who might answer us.”

Hope fills Mai’s chest. Yui slowly stands up and casts a glance at the clock then looks back at Mai. “In fact, he might be willing to give us all the answers we want to know right now. I’m sure that he will tell us about the brides! He might even know how to best handle your situation with Laito!”

Mai impatiently stands as well. She shifts her weight back and forth. This was the hope that she had been waiting for. She desperately tells herself it’s a teacher. Those hopes are dashed when Yui leans forward and whispers. “Shuu.”

Mai couldn’t stop the bewildered look from taking over her face. Yui still looked excited. Mai finally releases a sigh and asks softly. “Yui, are you stupid?”

Yui looked offended for a moment, causing Mai to instantly regret her choice of words. Mai waves her hand dismissively and quickly says, “I’m sorry, Yui. I don’t see how going to a vampire to ask about his brothers is a good idea.”

Yui casts a glare in Mai’s direction. “He would know them best, wouldn’t he?”

Mai flinches at the offended tone Yui was using with her. She slowly sits back down. “Yui, if it’s one thing I’ve learned from movies, never go with the obvious answer.”

“This isn’t a movie, Mai.”

Mai slowly waves her hand again. “Yui, try to think this through. He may know quite a bit about his brothers, but what does he get from the deal? He’ll want something, and I don’t plan to feed him my blood like some…. Blood whore.”

Yui huffs lightly. She drops back into her chair. She mutters softly. “He is lazy. He won’t want anything in return.”

Mai has to bite back a chuckle. It looked almost like Yui was pouting, though Mai didn’t think she was. She still was desperate to stick to her word about not letting Yui drag her along for the ride. It falls silent for a few minutes before Yui stands up and says. “I’ll be going. I’ve already missed most of school.”

Mai leans forward and says with a serious tone. “Don’t go see Shuu, Yui. It’ll be bad for your health. If you are insistent on asking one of the brothers, why don’t you ask Ayato? After all, you already know him, and he’s Laito’s triplet. He’s less likely to lie to you than Shuu would be.”

Yui tilts her head a little, then she starts smiling at Mai once more, which came as a relief. She didn’t want to lose her only friend. 

“Let’s meet at the library on Saturday. We’ll sit at the long tables on the second floor. I’ll tell you what I find out.” Yui says softly. Mai nods. A relieved look over takes her friend’s face, and Yui simply gives her a wave and lets herself out. Mai releases a groan and cleans up their drinks before she drags herself up the stairs. She had thrown the box of cookies away without eating any of them, and she was grateful that she hadn’t gotten any other things from Laito. Still, she dreaded going into her room every single time. She crawls into bed and is asleep before too long.

________________________________________________________________

She knew this had to be a dream. She was walking down the hallway of the school. There were a lot more students than she remembered there being. The strangest thing was their faces were all blurred, and everything was eerily silent. Mai couldn’t see if the students mouths were moving or not, but it felt like she was in a room with a muted tv. Every so often, Mai would see a grotesque monster out of the corner of her eye. Instead of disappearing when she turned to look at them, they seemed to be closing in on her. She would quickly back away into the students, only to get carried away by the crowd. It was horrifying to lose sight of the monster, but she didn’t know what she could do to keep track of it. The crowd begins to grow thicker and thicker. A strange sense of claustrophobia sets in, making her heart race wildly in her chest. She spins around when she thinks that she hears Yui calling her name. Her heart stops upon seeing her friend slowly limping her way toward Mai. The crowd seems to easily part before her.

She had what appeared to be Mai’s pocket knife just low enough that it looked like it might not have gotten the blonde’s heart. Her face was bloody, and her hair was matted. Deep cuts lined her entire body, and the foot she was limping on was twisted at a disgusting angle. Mai rushes toward her, but she’s hit hard from the side. She feels her feet getting swept out from beneath her, and her body collides painfully hard with the cold, hard floor. Yui’s voice sounds like it’s getting overlapped with another person’s voice.

“Mai, I have to tell you something! Mai!”

Mai sits up abruptly, thankful to find herself in her room. It felt like the screamed words were still echoing in her ears. Her clothes was sticking to the thin film of cold sweat that coated her body. Her stomach hurt like someone had kicked her as hard as they could. She fumbles around the nightstand, until she finds her phone. She wakes it up only to discover that it had only been a few hours since she had fallen asleep. In fact, she was sure the sun was going to rise soon. She drops the phone face down onto the nightstand and rolls back onto her bed. Her hands raise to cover her face, and she closes her eyes tightly. She wishes that she could remember what her dream was about, but she could only remember the last moments before she woke up. She was sure that more had happened before she had ended up at the school. That’s when she realizes something that has the fine hairs on her body standing on end. It sounded almost like her mother was calling her from downstairs, but she hadn’t shut her door, so it shouldn’t be that hard to hear her mother. Slowly, Mai’s hands leave her face. She listens to hear her name being called once again. She quickly sits up to look toward the door to see if she did actually shut it.

Her heart stops completely, and her breath hitches in her throat. Standing at the end of the bed was a woman in white. She looked like she was drunk, and her dark hair hung limply around her face. In fact, it completely shrouded it. She was swaying slowly back and forth, but the creepiest part was the fact that she was producing a slight glowing. Mai couldn’t see through her, but she was faintly glowing. Mai wanted nothing more than to scream, but she couldn’t feel her body. The woman jerks to the side in an awkward side step. Mai’s heart starts to pick up the closer the woman draws to her. Mai can only watch the woman getting closer. It freed the end of her bed, but she found herself oddly fascinated by the woman’s jerky movements. Finally, the woman stops beside Mai. Without warning, red starts to filter down the woman’s right shoulder, staining her pure white dress. Her head slowly lifts to look through the hair. Instead of eyes, she had black holes. Her mouth was a bloody red color. A chill runs down Mai’s spine at the sight. The woman looked like she was screaming in horror. Tears spring to Mai’s eyes. She was dreaming, that was all. This was a dream.

She slowly shifts her weight to her knees. She couldn’t just sit there and stare at this woman anymore. The red stain had slowly made it’s way to her stomach. Mai turns her head enough to see the door to her room. It was open just like she had thought it was. A chill runs down her spine. She would have clearly heard her mother calling. So, who was calling her name? Mai quickly shoves the thoughts away. She could worry about that when she got away from the woman standing too close for comfort. Just as she throws her weight forward to dive off the foot of her bed, she sees the woman move out of the corner of her eye. A pale hand was reaching for Mai’s throat. Once again, Mai’s heart stops. She couldn’t stop her momentum and change direction in time. It felt like time had slowed down. A cold feeling touches the front of her throat, and several things happen at once.

A cold shock rips through her body, leaving her feeling stiff and numb. She hears her body hit the floor with a loud thump, but, oddly, she doesn’t feel the impact. She’s sure that she rolls a few times, but she can’t seem to keep track. All she can hear is a screaming that is echoing throughout the room. It sounded like a woman was being murdered. She kept pleading loudly for whoever was hurting her to stop. She kept begging and claiming to love whoever was hurting her. Mai’s head felt like it was splitting from how loud it was. Her nails dig painfully into her scalp while she curls into a ball. She closes her eyes as tight as she can, as if it would help. She was certain her parents were about to burst into her room due to her room. Then everything goes completely silent.

The cold shock slowly edges away leaving her panting, sweating, and numb on her floor. Her heart was still racing, and she slowly opens her eyes. She could faintly make out the ceiling above her. Just as she pulls her hands from her hair, she hears a chilling sound. It sounded like someone was talking through an old radio. The words were slow, and she felt like she was missing vital parts.

“.....fr……..he…i…...de……. Danger.”

The last word was the only thing she could clearly make out. Mai was too afraid to look to her bed. She just stares at the ceiling waiting for her fear to disappear. Slowly, her heart starts to slow to an appropriate rate, and her breathing returns to normal. She turns her head slowly toward her bed just as her name fades away. She didn’t believe in ghosts. There had been no evidence other than what horror movies displayed. She flinches. She had thought the same thing about vampires, but they were real. Much more real than she wanted them to be.

It came as a great relief to find nothing there. In fact, she didn’t feel sore or anything. Still, she just laid there staring at her bed. Something struck her as odd. The woman had been screaming for help before everything went silent. Mai finally closes her eyes. The woman had reached out and touched her, but it felt almost like she was trying to warn Mai of something. Slowly, Mai drags herself to her bed and lays down. It made her feel better to try to rationalize what had happened then think about it as it was. Her eyes sweep over the room. There was no evidence of the woman’s presence, and she considered turning on the light. She decided against it when she could see the faint traces of light creeping into her room. The sun was rising, so she didn’t see a point.

She ended up just laying there for a while, staring at the wall. She had gotten up after the sun had fully risen and proceeded through her day. She had convinced herself that the was nothing more than a dream, and her subconscious calling out to her for some reason. She figured it’d be too cliche to have a bleeding woman show up to her and be asked to find the woman’s murderer. She couldn’t wait for Saturday to arrive. She could only hope that Yui had found out something useful. If not, Mai was afraid that she was going to slowly lose her mind.

________________________________________________________________

She had used any free time she could find to look into ghosts, but it was as unfruitful as her search into vampires. Still, she found the history behind ghosts to be just interesting as the history behind vampires. Thankfully, Saturday had finally arrived. She didn’t have an overabundance to share with Yui, but she felt like she had something. The dream kept replaying every night. Thankfully, she hadn’t seen the woman since. She lets her parents know that she’s heading to the library to find some leisurely books to read. They seemed weary, since it was late in the afternoon, but they still allowed her to go.

The library was a huge two story building. It was open until one in the morning due to the students that went to school at night. It would then open at seven a.m. for the other daytime students. Mai had been there plenty of times, though she hadn’t found a lot of time to read lately. She quietly slips in and makes her way up to the second level. She doesn’t see Yui anywhere, but it was only seven p.m., so she wasn’t really worried. She browses till she finds a good fantasy books and settles at one of the long tables. She cracks open the book and allows herself to become immersed into the story.

She was already several chapters in when she hears the chair across from her scrape. She glances up just in time to see a sheepish looking Yui sitting down in it. Mai doesn’t bother asking her why she looked that way. The reason flopped into a chair right next to her friend looking irritated. Mai flinches, but she choses to ignore Ayato’s bored green gaze. She turns her attention to Yui and forces a smile. “Well?”

Yui frowns a little then slowly nods. “I did find out something.”

Ayato leans forward over the table before either girl can say anything and sneers. “Why do you care what a sacrificial bride is? It has nothing to do with you.”

Mai levels as cold of a glare as she can at him. “Yui is my friend. If it concerns her, than I would like to help her as much as possible.”

He scoffs, but Mai doesn’t give him a chance to reply. She turns her attention onto Yui. Yui glances between the two and releases a sigh. She says softly. “I’m not… quite sure on the women in white you had mentioned, but…”

“What?” Ayato interrupts. A look of pure amusement settles over his face. “You’re seeing things? Boy, I didn’t take you for the crazy type!”

Mai doesn’t get a chance to deny it before Ayato starts to laugh. There are various shushing noises, but he doesn’t seem to care. He just continues to laugh loudly. Embarrassment starts to build in Mai’s chest, and she wants nothing more than to throw the book in her hands at him. She’s distracted from her humiliation when an arm wraps around her shoulders.

“Ahhhh, Ayato. Didn’t you now you aren’t supposed to make fun of women? They are just hysterical and believe anything you tell them.” Ayato’s laughter abruptly dies, and Mai could feel a breath brushing her cheek. Without daring to turn her face, she lifts the book in her hands up to protect her face. The pages face outward toward the boy she childishly refused to name, even mentally. He lets out a whining sound.

“We haven’t seen each other for a month!” Laito coos at her. She just keeps the book up between their faces, which causes Ayato to start to laugh once more. Mai could feel her irritation with the situation building. She turns her attention back to Yui, who looked like she was trying not to laugh either. Mai barely resists the urge to roll her eyes. She was half tempted to shove Laito’s arm off of her body, but a sudden thought occurs to her. She would try an experiment of hers that she had been contemplating for the last few days. He always seemed to get a kick when she struggled against him. She had settled for deciding to ignore his complete existence.

Yui had finally lost her fight with the laughter and was giggling along side Ayato. Mai releases a sigh and waits patiently for them to quiet down. She could feel Laito’s arm slowly traveling down her side. She closes her eyes to resist the urge to elbow him in the stomach. She had to keep reminding herself that she was trying something different. Thankfully, someone makes a loud enough shushing noise that both Ayato and Yui falls silent. Mai releases a slow breath and abruptly stands. She could feel Laito’s arm falling from her body. She feels instantly grateful for the fact that he hadn’t tried to grab her. Maybe this would work! She pulls the book away from his face and closes it before setting it on the table. She quickly steps out of Laito’s reach and says softly. “Hey, I just noticed the time. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help, Yui. I’ll have to catch up some other time. Make sure to drop by!”

She spins on her heel to quickly walk away. She could hear someone scraping their chair and footsteps running after her. She just picks up her pace. She was sure that it was Yui who was pursuing her, so the further she got from the brothers; the easier it would be to talk to Yui privately. A small hand grabs the sleeve of her t-shirt from behind, and she turns to face Yui. She gives Mai an unsure look. Mai offers her a smile and makes a wide gesture back toward the Sakamaki brothers. “I figured that it might not be best to talk with them here.”

Yui flinches and glances back. She turns to face Mai again with a desperate look. She says softly. “I got Ayato to tell me about the sacrificial bride, but I didn’t tell him about the women. I wasn’t sure how to bring it up without embarrassing you. I think you should really talk to Shuu or maybe Reiji about that. Anyway, Ayato said that there have been lots of brides, but none of them have survived.”

Mai’s heart skips a beat. She could see the pure terror on Yui’s face. Mai wanted to reach out and comfort her friend, but she was speechless. She couldn’t imagine how Yui must feel, and she didn’t know what she could say to make Yui feel better. Slowly, Mai reaches out to grab a hold of Yui’s hand. She gives it a tight squeeze. “We’ll get you out of there.”

Mai closes her eyes tightly. That sounded so lame. She opens her eyes to look at her friend. Yui just shakes her head. “You can’t hope to fight them, Mai. They are too strong.”

Mai could just barely hear Yui. Mai flinches at the thought. Yui was right. No amount of physical violence could possibly win against them. In fact, Laito had shown her small displays of just how strong he was. He hadn’t forced anything, and Mai had an idea as to why he hadn’t. She reaches out to pat Yui’s shoulder. She says softly. “I’ll see what I can do to help you, Yui. I promise. You aren’t alone.”

Yui’s quickly adds. “Please don’t tell anyone! Not even your parents!”

Mai gives her a sad smile, but she nods. She could feel Yui slowly letting her go. She glances over to see that Ayato was watching them intently, but he had a clearly bored look on his face. Her heart skips a beat. He was alone, and she hadn’t seen Laito leave. Mai turns her attention back to Yui. She pats her shoulder once more. Yui attempts a smile, but the effect is ruined by the tears forming in her eyes. Mai wanted to comfort her, but she didn’t know how this was going to turn out. She couldn’t bring herself to lie to Yui. She gives her friend a small wave and turns to hurry down the stairs. She had even more to think about now. If what Yui had said was true, than Mai needed to think of a way to free Yui. It’d have to be sooner rather than later. Mai didn’t know how much time Yui still had. It was clear that Yui was something special to the vampires, though she couldn’t figure out what made Yui special. It seemed like Ayato stuck to her like glue. It didn’t seem like just anyone could be special like Yui. Mai had been told by several vampires that she was average, and no one else at school seemed to peek any of the brother’s interest. She pushes the doors to the library open.

She had to figure out what went on behind the scenes. If she could figure out how the sacrificial brides were chosen, she could figure out a plan. She flinches once more. Her thoughts turned back to how defeated and terrified Yui had looked. Mai’s footsteps slow as she takes stock over the information she already had.

To make it easier, Mai starts at the beginning. Ever since her interactions with Yui and the Sakamaki’s began, she had been seeing strange things. She wanted to discredit it to lack of sleep, but she didn’t think it was. She didn’t want to admit that her reality had been so disrupted that she was starting to doubt her own sanity. Still, she figured that the women in white had something to do with either Yui or the Sakamaki’s. After all, she hadn’t seen anything the entire month that she didn’t talk to Yui or the brothers. Her footsteps stop completely. If this did have something to do with Yui or the brothers, perhaps it was a warning. Maybe that’s what the woman had been screaming about. She was trying to warn about Yui’s possible death. Mai quickly shakes her head. That would be too convenient.

This brought about another question. How could she even help Yui? She only had a few pieces to the puzzle, and she couldn’t even make sense of the pieces she did have. Another problem presented itself. She wasn’t strong enough to truly stand against the vampires. She flinches at the thought. Laito had said that he would break her slowly. It was startling to find that she had starting to think that she might stand a chance against him, and it came as a cold realization that this was likely part of his game. He was letting her struggle against him because it was fun. The thought made her sick to her stomach. She had been told that she was nothing special, so she wasn’t sure where the arrogance had came from.

Her eyes widen when she realizes something that she felt like she had continually overlooked. She was nothing special. Her heart starts to race. She was just another silly human to Laito and his brothers. She could use that to her advantage. They would likely underestimate her. Laito wanted to play a game. How easy would it be to play his game with him? If she could play the game well, she would be able to wiggle her way closer to him. Hope fills her chest; she could possibly find out the best way to help Yui.

The next important question was: could she possibly trick the creepy vampire? He didn’t look that old, but Kanato looked younger than Subaru. That just served to prove that looks can be deceiving. After all, her whole gamble rode on the fact that her simple human looks would deceive Laito and the others. She clenches her fists tightly. She just had to think positive thoughts, besides she wouldn’t know if she could pull it off unless she tried. She takes a deep breath. If Laito could play a game, she could, too. She starts walking once again.

Her thoughts turn to the other brothers. Would one of them be easier for her to handle? Laito was a handful, and she had a nagging doubt that she could actually trick him. She shudders at the thought of trying to deal with Kanato. There was no way that she would willingly put herself in the erratic vampire’s path. She had doubts that she could trick Reiji either. He just frightened her, and she had a feeling that she would back out before she even got anywhere.

She releases a sigh. She’d have to consider the other two brothers a little closer. It felt like the only one that she really knew as Latio.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you guys enjoy!

How was she going to possibly pull this idea off without getting into some type of trouble? Mai’s brown eyes search her ceiling silently, as if the answer would magically appear. Every single idea she had so far had ran into the same problem. She had no true way to work her way into the brother’s household. Sure she was friends with Yui, but she didn’t think that would get her closer to one of the brothers. She releases a sigh and rolls onto her side. She reaches out for her phone. She had decided that she had two connections to truly work with. One was Yui, but she knew that Yui had gotten all the information that she was willing to tell Mai. Yui had done what she could, and Mai didn’t see a point in pushing her. If her friend saw fit to hide something, then it must be for a reason. The second was, unfortunately, Laito. While Mai had met the others, she hadn’t really interacted them enough to feel safe approaching them to hold a conversation, let alone a connection. A connection was what she believed that she needed. If she could form a tight enough bond, she could possibly pick apart their brain for a way to help Yui out of her situation.

Her hand bats blindly at the nightstand before it wraps around and wakes up her phone. She could see that it was around midnight. She releases a sigh. This wasn’t supposed to be so hard to figure out. It seemed so easy on her walk home. With a flinch, she considers the fact that maybe she shouldn’t have ignored Laito earlier that evening. He seemed like her easiest way into the house. That simple thought ran a chill down her spine. She slowly sits up and glances around her dark room. Slowly, she pulls her knees up to her chest and stares at the blankets covering her legs. If only she hadn’t thrown away their father’s contact information. She would have called him and seen about getting back into the school, regardless to the strings attached. That would at least increase her chances of running into at least one of the other brothers, possibly Shuu. He seemed the most mellow out of all of them. A thought suddenly occurs to her. She abruptly sits up and glances toward her dresser. Sitting on the top was Yui’s clothes. Mai hadn’t had a chance to return them to her. This could be her chance to get back to the house. They should know how to get a hold of their own father, and she could possibly find an excuse to start talking to someone other than Laito.

A sense of relief rushes through her. She would return them tomorrow when it was daylight out. There was no way she was going down that creepy road at night. Besides even if they could come out in the day, they’d at least be tired. She falls back onto her bed and rolls onto her side with a sense of satisfaction.

She had been dozing in and out of sleep for a while now. It seemed like just as she was about to actually get some sleep, something would wake her up. Her sleepy mind could never identify whatever it was that kept alerting her sleep riddled mind. She thought that maybe the blanket would shift over her skin, causing a tickling feeling. She’d panic each time and blindly search for any bugs in her bed, but she could never find one. Finally, she slowly drags herself into a slumped half sitting position. Sleep stubbornly clung to her mind, making it hard to focus on anything around her. The only thing that she knew was that she had to go to the bathroom really bad. The carpet felt nice and cool beneath her barefeet. She slowly makes her way out into the dark hallway. She bumps into something in the hallway, but she just steps around it without giving it much thought. She was faintly aware that there was a stinging sensation in her hip.

Once she is done in the bathroom, she leaves the light on and peers into the hallway, but she couldn’t figure out what it was that she had run into. Finally, her tired eyes spot a large, dark blob near her room. Her mind tiredly drags through her memories to remember that her mother had been rearranging things, so it was likely that she had run into an end table of some sort. Mai assumed her mother was rearranging because she was bored, so there were plenty of things out of place and filling the hallway like a maze. With a sense of relief, she turns the light off, allowing darkness to wash over her. She leans against the doorframe of the bathroom. Normally, she would hurry to her room, but the hallway wasn’t like it normally was. She releases a sigh as a tired feeling makes her body feel heavy. She decided that it would be easier to wait for eyes to adjust some to avoid running into more things that would wake her parents unnecessarily.

A strange noise from the direction of her room sends every nerve in her body into overdrive and chases any the remaining dregs of sleep. She straightens up to listen closer. It sounded almost like her phone was ringing. She slowly shakes her head, but she doesn’t move her eyes from that direction. She just listens to her phone ring. Both of her parents were sleeping nearby, so she knew it couldn’t be them. She didn’t think that Yui had gotten a phone, yet. That quickly ruled out everyone that had her phone number. The sound stops after a few rings. She couldn’t even identify the ring tone. She didn’t remember ever having a haunting melody on her phone. Her muscles slowly relax, when it remains silent. She tries to convince herself that it was nothing more than a wrong number. She slowly starts toward her room now that her eyes had adjusted enough that she felt confident to move without running into something.

She peeks into her room, but she doesn’t see anything. A light, cold sweat starts to break out along her spine. Her room felt terribly eerie. She jumps when her phone lights up on the night stand. She considers bolting in to get it, but she couldn’t shake the sense of dread building in her chest. She didn’t want to go in there. In fact, she felt like she was being watched. She takes a step back and tries to tell herself that it was just all a part of her tired mind, but she felt wide awake now. The light on her phone shuts off, and it goes silent again, only to vibrate with a chime later to let her know that she had either gotten a text or a voicemail. This only causes her to take a step backwards. She’d go downstairs, get a glass of water, and watch some tv. That would help to calm her nerves and help her work up the courage to return to her room and look at her phone.

Careful to keep from turning her back on her room, she slowly makes her way toward the stairs. She flinches each time she runs into something. She was being so loud that she was sure that her parents were awake at that point. Finally, she manages to make it to the staircase without any sign of her parents. In the dark, she misjudges the distance between her feet and the top stair. The heel of her foot encounters nothing but thin air when she steps back. Since she hadn’t been expecting the stairs to be so close, her body leans dangerously backward. For a heart stopping second, she thinks that she’s going to tumble backwards down the stairs. The thought of broken bones or worse races through her mind. She frantically reaches for the railing. Luckily, she catches it, but all it does is keep her from falling completely down the stairs. The foot that had caused the problem still slips down the stairs, scraping her foot and ankle painfully. Her butt collides awkwardly with a stair, making her release a loud whimpering sound. Her solidly placed foot scoots, effectively making her unwillingly do the splits. Tears spring up in her eyes as pain laces the insides of her thighs at how awkwardly far they were stretched. She could only hope that she hadn’t pulled a muscle. She thought she could hear her phone ringing. It was almost as if it were mocking her clumsiness. She uses the railing to scramble up. Thankfully, her muscles felt fine, but she could feel a few scrapes and bruises.

A light fills the hallway just as she finishes standing. Her father’s head appears from her parent’s room. He notices Mai and gives her a frown. “What are you doing?”

Mai lets out an awkward chuckle. “I was thirsty, and I couldn’t sleep. I just thought I’d go downstairs to watch some tv and drink some water.”

“Did you make that noise?”

Her cheeks burn a bright red, and she quickly nods. “I just misjudged the distance from my room to the stairs, because mom has been moving things around. I was paying more attention to not stubbing my toe than the approaching stairs. Sorry for waking you, dad.”

He’s quiet for a moment. Guilt begins to grow in her chest. He looked so tired. Finally, he slowly nods and starts to pull away, but he pokes his head back out before she has a chance to feel completely relieved. He asks softly, “are you ok?”

Mai gives him an actual smile. “Yup! Might get a few bruises, but I’m fine.”

He chuckles and disappears back into his room. Darkness once again floods the hallway when he shuts the door quietly. Mai leans over the railing and breathes a sigh of relief. Her eyes were quicker to adjust to the darkness this time. She sucks in and holds her breath for a couple of seconds. This helped her to listen for any sounds that were coming from her room. Thankfully, everything sounded quiet again, but she found that she still didn’t want to go back. She knew that she should have her phone on her at all times, but she didn’t think it would be worth it to fall down the stairs again. She slowly makes her way down and into the kitchen. She decides to not use the light, even though it had no chance of waking her parents. She feels a glass with cool water and takes a large drink. It was completely silent on this level, which she found to be relaxing.

Once she has drank her fill of water, she hurries to the living room to turn on the tv. She flinches at the light that suddenly illuminates the room when it’s turned on, and she immediately turns the volume down. It had echoed so loudly that she was afraid that her parents would have heard it. She settles onto the couch, leans against the armrest, and proceeds to channel surf in an effort to find something remotely interesting. She finally settles on a thrilling crime drama. Tiredness starts to feel overwhelming, and she dozes off before she even can even finish watching the episode.

____________________________________________________________________________

Something heavy was resting on one of her shoulders. That something was cold, and another cold object was pressing against her thigh. She was faintly aware of the sound of a voice coming from the tv. Her eyes snap open when something cold lands on her upper thigh. She sits up abruptly to find that whatever was resting on her shoulder had pushed her back down against the armrest. Instead of just resting on her shoulder, the weight was now pressed against her entire side. Her eyes flick to the side to meet vivid green ones. Instantly, she starts to struggle, but she was already awkwardly crushed between Laito and the armrest of the couch.

She takes a deep breath to scream, but she doesn’t get a chance to even do anything. Amusement fills his eyes, and his cold hand covers her mouth and nose. She violently jerks her head back, but he simply follows the movement, effectively pinning her head against the back of the couch. Her heart starts to race, and she wiggles her hands free and reaches up to grab his hand and wrist. No amount of pulling could dislodge the suffocating hand. Panic causes her to struggle even harder. The sound of something hitting floor faintly registers in her mind. She closes her eyes only to open them a few seconds later to see that Laito wasn’t even looking at her. He had turned his attention turned to the tv. Her lungs were starting to burn from lack of oxygen, and she digs her nails into his hand. This seems to get his attention, since he turns his amused green gaze back to her. “Hm?”

Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, and she tries to give him her best glare from around his hand. To her horror, she sees him leaning down. He leaves a few light kisses along the temple area of her face. She closes the eye on that side and tries to jerk away, but his hand grips her cheeks tightly. She feels him huskily chuckle against her skin, and her body stiffens. Finally, he pulls his face away from her. His hand slowly drops from her mouth. She immediately sucks in a few greedy breaths of air. His fingers slowly trace down to her neck, where she promptly shoves them away. He lets out a chuckle and just leans on her more. She shifts uncomfortably beneath him. A noise from the tv has her blood feeling like it was turning to ice. She hadn’t paid much attention to the tv. Laito had rudely woken her up and had kept her attention on him. Slowly, she turns her gaze to the tv. What she sees leaves her speechless. She wasn’t sheltered by any means, but she had never actively searched for the more adult oriented movies.

Her face begins to burn, and she quickly drops her gaze to her lap. It still didn’t help the quiet sounds radiating from the tv. To be honest, it felt like the tv was much too loud to her. She clenches her fists and cautiously looks for the remote. “What are you doing here?”

To her horror, she can’t seem to see it, and his weight was still keeping her pinned to the couch. He lets out a sigh of feigned irritation and lets his head drop against hers. His attention was back on the tv screen. She tries to wiggle, but it only causes him to put enough weight on her that it was getting harder to breath. His hair was tickling her cheek, making her face itch. Thankfully, he wasn’t wearing his hat, which she was sure would have been uncomfortably stabbing her. She tightly closes her eyes and tries to wiggle so she can dig her elbow into his side. The sound of his voice ceases her struggles. “I got suspended again.”

“What does that have to do with me?” She practically snarls at him. “Why did you come here instead of going to your own house?”

He shifts against her, causing her to tense. She was sure that he was going to touch her, but, to her surprise, he simply sits up. Now that she was free, she quickly scrambles to her feet, intent on putting some distance between the two of them. Her foot kicks something, drawing her attention to her feet. Her heart starts to race when she sees it’s her phone. She hears him starting to shift again, so she leans down to scoop it up and quickly steps further away from him. The last thing she wanted him to do was reach out and pull her back into his lap. She’s careful to turn her back on the tv. The sounds were even louder now that she was closer to it. Her face flushes a deeper red at a particularly lustful moan. Her gaze locks with an amused green one, and Laito leans forward. He rests an elbow on one knee, and his chin settles into his hand. His eyes narrow a little. “Aren’t you going to ask me why I was suspended?”

Mai resists the urge to snap at him that she didn’t care. This could be her one chance to start wiggling her way in. It was much easier that finding an excuse to leave her house during the day and making her way to their house. Laito’s eyes narrow a little, like he knew what she was thinking. The noises were making it harder to focus, so she abruptly spins around and reaches out to turn off the tv. She flinches at the images that she was sure were going to be burned behind her eyelids for months. The whole room becomes dark and silent. She doesn’t even get a chance to turn to face Laito again. Instead, his voice is suddenly beside her ear. She flinches and tries to step away, but his arm wraps around her waist and pulls her back into his body.

“I’m bored,” he practically whines in her ear. “You aren’t being a very kind hostess. I came over to talk to you about how horrible that school is, but you won’t even ask why I was suspended. Now, you’ve turned off my tv show. That was really interesting to watch, but I get your hidden meaning. You don’t want to watch it, so you want to reenact it?”

Panic settles in her stomach, and she desperately twists to face him. To her surprise and suspicion, he allows her to turn to face him, but he keeps her close to his body. Thankfully, he allowed enough space between their bodies that she wasn’t touching him. Her eyes hadn’t adjusted to the darkness around her yet, so she couldn’t see if he was leaning his face close to hers. His body hasn’t moved enough to give her any indication on what he was planning to do. Quickly, she asks. “What did you get suspended for?’

She was hoping that it’d distract him from whatever he was planning. It’s eerily quiet for a few moments before he chuckles deep in his throat. Her hope slowly starts to die when she feels him actually leaning closer. She puts her hands on his chest and pushes, but it doesn’t do much. It just traps her arms between their bodies. She could feel his breath brush her face. Her mind frantically races. She thought about calling for her parents, but she bites it back. Laito was her easiest chance to get in and find out about the brides and how they were chosen. The more she learned about Yui’s position, the more she could be of help. She would just have to deal with whatever Laito threw at her.

She decides to try a different route just as his nose brushes along her jaw. “We are friends! Remember? Friends don’t do something to hurt another friend, right?”

She flinches at the sound of her own voice. She sounded more panicked that she wanted to. He makes a humming noise, and she feels his cold, wet tongue runs over the side of her neck. That’s when a cold realization rushes over her. He had been watching something so dirty while she had been sleeping beside him, and she had effectively turned off the only light that she had. She could feel a lump pressing against her upper pelvis lower abdomen. Her face flushes, and she starts to struggle even harder. She freezes when he lets out a low, husky moan against her neck. His fangs brush her skin, and she almost gives into her urge to call out for her parents. She closes her eyes and lets out a slow breath to try to calm her racing heart. There was no way he could get away with what he was thinking about doing, not in her very own living room. She closes her eyes tightly when she realized why he had made the moaning noise. Her struggling had her lower body brushing…. It.

His teeth graze her skin again, sending a shiver down her spine. He lets out a chuckle and pulls away after a few times of doing that; each time sending yet another shiver of fear down her spine. His voice is full of amusement when he says, “I was bored, so I played with a few of the female students.”

To her relief, he finally pulls away. She didn’t dare move, though. She wasn’t sure if he’d take it as her trying to run. The last time she had run, he seemed to enjoy it. Slowly, her mind catches up to what he was implying. It wasn’t much of a stretch to figure it out. He had a suggestive tone, and he had been watching something so perverted. She recoils back a step, bumping lightly into the tv. “You’re disgusting!”

It came out as more of a hiss than she meant for it to be. He just laughs it off. Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness, so she could see that he had moved back over to the couch. She wanted to take comfort from this, but it was like she could still feel the lump pressing against her body. The thought sent a shiver down her spine. She could vaguely see that he had spread himself out on it. His voice was playful as he says, “You are the only one that’s not in school right now, so I thought I’d come to see how my friend was doing. After all, you were so cold to me the last time we saw each other.”

A cold feeling settles into her stomach. Could she really do this? Could she converse with him like nothing was wrong with the way that he acted? Maybe she should just return Yui’s clothes and try for a more mellow brother. The thought of Yui’s suffering swims to the front of her mind. Determination settles into her stomach. She could do this. Laito had said that he had wanted her to fall in love with him. How hard could it be to slowly work her way into pretending that she truly cared for him? The only thing she had to look out for was making it seem like she was giving in too quickly. She releases a slow sigh and says, “I don’t like you touching me. Friends don’t touch each other like that.”

“I was trying to hug you,” he says with a feigned whine. She lets out an annoyed sound, but she doesn’t respond to him.

“You’ve touched Little Bitch,” he states as if he were quickly becoming uninterested in the conversation.

“That’s different,” Mai seeths. “I’m not touching her with the intent of doing something crude to her.”

He lets out a soft laugh. It briefly crosses her mind that he might be trying to be quiet to keep from alerting her parents to his presence, but she quickly pushes that thought out of her mind when he says, “You might want to be careful. Ayato might get jealous. He doesn’t like sharing with anyone. He’s always been a selfish little brat.”

She feels disgust take over her face and stares at his dark outline with apparent disgust. His chuckling just serves to grate on her nerves even more. He spoke with a bit of disdain that she couldn’t fathom aiming at her own family. She desperately wanted to change the subject before it went too far. She manages to grind out. “I hope you don’t plan to come here every night of your suspension.” 

He makes a soft noise that she isn’t able to identify. “Why not?”

That simple question made her stomach twist nervously. She was starting to doubt that she could actually trick this vampire. He was so great at acting that he had actually sounded innocent just then. She clenches her fists and reminds herself once again that she was doing this for her friend’s safety. She gives the first lame excuse she can think of. “Because my parents will find out.”

She knew that was the wrong answer when she hears a husky chuckle emanating from him. Before she can try to cover her mistake, he chuckles softly and says, “It sounds almost like you want to be alone with me, sweetheart. So alone that no one will know that we are together. You know we can be friends that do a little bit more together, right?”

“I’m not interested in being friends with benefits,” she quickly answers. Thankfully, it’s silent for a few minutes. She uses this time to gather her thoughts and try to calm down. She barely hears him saying softly.

“Prudes are always the funnest to break.”

She doesn’t get a chance to answer. A thumping noise above them draws her attention toward the stairs. It made her realize that time had flew by. The room was lightening up with the rising sun, and she could actually clearly see him reclining on the couch. A chill runs down her spine at the amused smirk on his face. He winks at her and says cryptically, “See you tonight, sweetheart.”

He seems to literally vanish before her eyes. She is still staring at the couch where he had been sitting when her father stumbles down the stairs. He gives her a tired look. “Mai?”

She jumps and snaps her gaze up to him. He runs a hand over his face and says. “Are you still up? Have you gone to bed yet?”

She forces a smile onto her face. Her father looked so tired, and she didn’t have the heart to worry him right before he was about to go to work. Besides, she needed to just bear with Laito’s behavior for a little while. She nods a couple times before quickly hurrying past him. “Sorry for waking you up earlier!”

He grumbles something, but she was already weaving her way to the bedroom. She flops onto the bed and rolls onto her back. She feels her phone vibrate in her pocket, though she doesn’t remember how it had gotten into the pocket of her sweats. Tiredly, she pulls it out. Her eye widen when she sees the insane amount of missed calls. They were all from the same unknown number. There were a few voicemails and a couple texts.

She glances over a text with a shiver. It said that it was Laito, and she was being mean by ignoring him. It proceeds to say that he has the perfect punishment in mind. She doesn’t bother looking at the other texts, which she assumed would describe the punishments. She just deletes them all and the voicemails as well. She just rolls over to go to sleep. Her phone vibrates again. With a sigh, she glances at the text. It was from Laito, but the contents made her blood run cold. She promptly leaps out of bed.

She had forgotten about what Laito had been watching! She bolts out of the room. He had sent her a text saying that he’d have to finish watching his movie with her later, and it was a dvd. She stumbles down the stairs, almost slipping a couple of times. She had only turned the tv off! She hadn’t known that it was a dvd! She didn’t want to think about it at the time. The last thing she needed was her parents thinking that she watched that kind of stuff! She grimaces at the stern looks she clearly imagine getting from them. There would be no way that she could get out of this. They would have to assume it was hers, and she wouldn’t be able to tell them the truth. It wasn’t like she could tell them that a boy was in the house watching it with their teenage daughter. That would only make the situation worse. She greatly regretted not calling for her parents now. If she had, she’d be able to claim that it was his. She leaps down the last few stairs. Her sore spots from last night ache when she lands heavily on the floor. Her father rushes into the hallway separating the kitchen from the living room. 

“What the hell is wrong with you, Mai?!” He snarls at her when he sees that it’s just her. She flinches at the worried, but frustrated, look on his face. She frantically searches for an excuse other than saying that Laito had been in their living room watching a porno, and that she was retrieving it, so they wouldn’t see.

“I…. I forgot something in the living room.” Her father gives her a suspicious look. She flushes as she mutters. “It’s a personal thing.”

She flinches since that simple phrase sounded unusually dirty to her. She offers her dad a tired smile, though he continues to frown at her. Finally, he gives her a dismissive wave. “Ok. Try to be quieter, though. Your mom is still sleeping.”

To her relief, he disappears back into the kitchen. She scrambles into the living room and pulls the dvd from the dvd player before turning it off. She flinches at the naked woman on the disc. She awkwardly tries not to touch anything on the picture, and n the picture, andshe frantically looks around for the case.

“Hey, Mai? You have school today, right?”

It felt like Mai was sweating more than she should have been. She makes a strange noise in the back of her throat. She couldn’t find the case anywhere at all, and her panic was just escalating.

“Mai?” Her gaze snaps up to see that her father was giving her a strange look from the hallway. Her face flushes a deep red, and she shoves the disc behind her back. To her relief, her father seems too tired to even notice her strange behavior. He had a worried tone to his voice. “Are you ok?”

She hastily nods. “Yeah. I thought I left something down here, but I guess I was wrong!”

She flinches. Even to her own ears, her voice sounded oddly strained. She forces a smile onto her face and bolts for the stairs. She throws a hasty good night over her shoulder, and she moves the disc in front of herself to keep him from seeing it. She doesn’t even look back to see if she was actually successful in keeping her father in the dark about it. The only thing she could actually focus on was the hope that there wasn’t actually a case in the living room that she had overlooked. Once in her room, she proceeds to shove the disc as far under her mattress as she can reach. She didn’t care if it got broken or scratched. She breathes a sigh of relief before she flinches at the thought of what Laito would typically be doing during a movie like that one. With a sense of disgust, she goes to wash her hands. Dread fills her stomach and chest. It was going to be a long day full of dreading nightfall, and she was sure that it was going to be an even longer night. With a sigh, she starts downstairs to start her day.  
_______________________________________________________________________

She flops back onto her bed after changing into a tank top and shorts. She had been so tired that day that she hadn’t been able to focus on her online schooling or even hold a conversation with her mom. She had discreetly looked for the case to Laito’s disgusting habit, but she hadn’t been able to find it. Luckily, her mother hadn’t found it either. Mai rolls onto her side and closes her eyes. She had ended up helping her mom move furniture around and had done several chores with her. She had wanted to stay awake, but she was having a hard time of achieving that. It wasn’t that late at night, so it comes as a relief that she can faintly hear her parents downstairs. She slowly starts to doze off to the sound of their laughter. She’s faintly aware of her phone vibrating, but she doesn’t give it much thought. 

Her mind barely registers the cold fingers that are slowly running circles along her abdomen, getting dangerously close to the bottom of her breasts. She was positive that she wasn’t lying on her pillow. She feels something brush her shoulder, more towards her back, that felt suspiciously like lips. Her eyes snap open to find that she’s still laying on her side in her bed, but she wasn’t alone. A body was lightly pressed against her back, and it was lacking body heat. An arm was draped over her waist. The fingers of that hand was still tracing lazy circles along her skin. They lightly skim the bottom of one of her breasts, causing her body to jerk involuntarily. A deep, husky chuckle makes every muscle in her body tenses. 

To her horror, she found that her shirt had been pushed all the way up to expose part of her breasts. Her face turns a deep red, and her body tenses even further. She feels the arm under her head move to wrap around her shoulders before her panic filled mind can figure out how to get away. He pulls her upper body closer to his chest. His face becomes buried in her hair, and she can faintly hear him saying something. Panic races through her body, and she tries to twist her body so suddenly that she’s able use her body weight to get away from him. She opens her mouth to scream at the same time, but the hand that had been caressing her abdomen lifts to cover her mouth. He jerks her body back into his, and he presses her head back to his shoulder. Her scream is easily muffled by his palm.

She considers slamming her foot back into his shin, but she stops herself just before doing so. Every instinct told her to fight, but she resists the urge. She needed to get closer to him in order to get information, or at least a way into the house so she can help Yui. Besides, fighting always seemed to just excite him even more. Mai closes her eyes tightly and tries to make her body relax against his. She flinches when she hears him coo beside her ear in a huskily playful tone. “Oh? Not going to fight? That’s no fun.”

She decides to just lay there limply and glare at the wall. She had to find a fine balance between what she would allow him to do and what she wouldn’t. Now wasn’t the time to make a rash choice about what she wasn’t going to allow. She needed time to think about clear lines. She slowly closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to steady her nerves. Seconds later she wishes that she hadn’t started to make herself relax. She’s abruptly flipped onto her back. Her eyes open just as his cold hands tightly wrap around her inner thighs, mid way up.

The sour taste of fear coats her tongue and throat. She tries to twist her body to the side, while desperately keeping her legs tightly together. Just as her body twists, a horrifying sensation settles over her. The sensation is the feeling of her legs being forcibly separated, and his body quickly settling itself between them, effectively preventing her legs from going back together. Her heart beats wildly in her chest, and she opens her mouth to scream again. His hand once again covers her mouth, and her wide eyes lock with amused, green ones. His body was touching her in places she never wanted him to ever think about touching. She could feel the material of his shirt against the bare skin of her abdomen, and his pelvis is pressed harder against hers than she ever thought possible. She didn’t dare tear her gaze from his. She wanted to be able to see what his next plan was going to be. The street light filtering through her window allows her to see the amused smile that spreads over his face when he leans down close to her face. She doesn’t get a chance to react though. His free hand grabs a fistful of the hair on the top of her head. He gives a sharp tug, painfully dragging her head back. To her horror, she realizes that it completely exposes her throat to him.

She awkwardly arches her upper back into his chest to try to relieve some of the pressure on her scalp. Tears instantly spring to her eyes. It had forced her to lose sight of him. She closes her eyes tightly to prevent the tears from leaking out. The last thing she wanted was to look at her headboard while bit her, or worse, violated her. She found herself silently praying that he wouldn’t take it all the way. A cold feeling of dread fills her stomach. She considered fighting, but she decided that she would wait for the right moment to strike. The way she was arched would prevent her from putting any weight behind her strikes. Her eyes snap open when she feels his tongue run up her throat. She releases a strained gasping noise when he licks from her collarbone all the way up to her chin again, and she tries to turn her gaze toward the door.

A low chuckle near her ear starts to crush the hope that her parents would hear any noises. She wasn’t able to see if the door was open, but she had a sinking feeling that it wasn’t. His voice is low and husky when he says. “I closed the door, and I can hear your parents sleeping not far away. How hopeless you must feel knowing that help is so close, but you can’t reach out to them.”

It was like he had thrown cold water over her. A type of strange clarity comes to her mind. This was just his way of tormenting her. It was just another of his stupid games. He wanted to see her scared, and she was foolishly playing into his hands. She decides to take a gamble and forces her body to slowly relax. She can feel him make a scoffing noise against the skin of her collarbone. Panic threatens to settle in again, but she just settles a stubborn gaze on the headboard above her. She wouldn’t fight unless he took it too far, even if he bit her. It’s silent as he places kisses along the bottom of her exposed throat, near her collarbone. He finally chuckles and says. “Ah, how cute. You think just laying there is going to save you?”

Thankfully, his hand moves away from her mouth. Unfortunately, the path he chooses leads it further down her face. His cold fingers trace down the side of her neck opposite his kisses. She again closes her eyes tightly to keep herself calm. His face finally pulls away from her neck. The hand in her hair loosens enough that she can tilt her head down just enough to look at him. She casts a cold glare his way, which seems to excite him more than discourage him. His fingers trace down to her collarbone, where they begin to lightly trace the bone hidden beneath the skin. She is proud of how calmly she says. “I don’t stand a chance against you, even if you were human. Why should I waste energy trying to fight you?”

Another amused smile spreads over his face. He leans down as if he is going to kiss her. She turns her face away the best she can, despite the pain in her scalp when he tugs on her hair to try to make her look at him again. When she stubbornly refuses, he pulls his head back. That only served to cement the idea that he was going to kiss her in his mind. He tilts his head playfully and says. “You don’t want a kiss?”

“Not from you,” she states as coldly as she can.

“Ah, but aren’t kisses from the ones you love supposed to be the sweetest?” He playfully coos at her. Mai finally turns her gaze back at him.

“I don’t love you. Do you even know the meaning of that word? You throw it around so casually.” She sounded angrier than she meant to. He chuckles softly. He leans down toward her chest instead of her mouth. Panic rushes through her chest at the thought of being bitten anywhere other than her soft, fleshy neck. Her hand hadn’t hurt as bad as she thought it would, but he hadn’t gotten a bone either. What if he were to graze one of the many bones in her chest? The thought of how much pain that would cause sends her thoughts into overdrive. She quickly rushes out. “Who are the women in white?”

He pauses just before his face touches the exposed skin just below her collarbone. Her heart stops for a moment before it starts to races just as wildly as before. She was desperately hoping that she had distracted him enough that she would have time to think of a better way to get free. He completely pulls away from and looks down at her from his kneeling position between her legs, even the hand that was in her hair had pulled away. Her heart skips a beat when she sees a thoughtful look on his face. It was the first emotion other than small traces of irritation, lustfulness or playfulness that she could remember seeing at that moment. It quickly disappears, but she was positive of it’s existence. He says playfully. “Are you saying that you don’t know why a woman wears white?”

She can’t help the scoff. She tries to slowly work her way out from beneath him. He abruptly pulls away from between her legs, leaving her shocked, but she doesn’t hesitate to hurry up against the headboard. She jerks her shirt down and pulls her knees up to her chest as extra protection. She settles an intent glare on him. He leans back to prop himself up using one of his hands. He gives her an innocent look and tilts his head. “What do they look like?”

She considers asking why should tell him, but she refrains from doing so. His attention was finally somewhat diverted from her. She takes a moment to think about each of the women she had seen. She picks the one that had talked to her in particular. She proceeds to tell him about her bluish hair and creepy eyes. The more she tells him, the larger his smile seems to grow. It was like this was some sort of inside joke. She suddenly stops talking in favor of giving him a suspicious glare. Without warning, he lunges at her. She tries to escape by scrambling off the bed, but his cold hand seems to uncannily find her hair. The world around her spins sickeningly, leaving everything a blur of color. Bile rises in her throat, though, thankfully, she doesn’t actually throw up.

Everything halts just as suddenly as it had started moving, which makes the sick feeling worse. She sinks to her knees trying to fight the dizziness. It was brighter here than her room, so it takes her eyes a few seconds to adjust. She focuses on the cold, stone floor below her. It was helping to ease the sick feeling faster than she thought it would. She didn’t think that she would ever get used to the teleporting thing that the vampires did. Her humiliation builds when she hears Laito laughing near her. She lifts her gaze from the hard floor to glare up at him. Something behind him catches her eye, effectively distracting her. Her heart skips a beat upon seeing a pretty red haired lady in a wedding dress standing behind him in an uncomfortable pose. Her glassy blue eyes stared off into space. Beside her was a dark haired woman, also in a wedding dress. Mai slowly climbs to her feet and begins looking around to see there were more women wearing wedding dresses of varying styles. It felt eerie to see them all standing so still. They looked like they were looking in a set direction. Each one was striking a unique, yet uncomfortable looking, pose. Mai’s heart continues to race as she steps closer to the red haired one. It looked like nothing more than a life sized doll, or even a mannequin if she really thought about it. She reaches out to gently run her fingers over the wedding dress. She jerks her fingers back upon feeling real material, though she didn’t know what she had been expecting. Her eyes rise to look at the red head’s face. Her face was free of any blemishes, so Mai figured that she was just a mannequin for displaying wedding dresses. She didn’t know which was more impressive the details of the women or the dresses. She releases a slow breath. “Wow.”

Laito appears behind her. He leans against her back so that the side of his face is just visible to her out of the corner of her eye. She was so entranced by the doll before her that she didn’t even think to shove him away. He lets out a low chuckle. “Kanato does a really good job, doesn’t he?”

Mai’s eyes widen, and she leans away from Laito enough to look at him. “Kanato makes these? Are they made of wax? They look so lifelike and have such amazing detail. Each one seems so unique.”

He gives her a playful smile and pulls away before wandering between the dolls. Unsure if she was supposed to follow, she simply stands there looking over the other dolls nearest to her. They were creepy, but she found them oddly fascinating. Laito seems to appear from behind a doll not far to her right. He winks playfully at her. “Come along, sweetheart. There is something you have to see!”

She grimaces and starts after him. There had to of been hundreds of dolls wearing different wedding dresses. Chills runs down her spine. Each doll that she passed reminded her of Yui’s predicament. Mai picks up her pace and says loudly. “Hey, Laito? I was wondering about the sacrificial brides. How are they chosen?”

Her response is a chuckle that seems to echo around the room. Mai’s step slow to a halt, and she glances around in an effort to find him. She didn’t want him to sneak up on her, but she couldn’t seem to see Laito at all. A frown settles itself onto her face. Finally, Laito’s echoing voice says, “Sweetheart, why don’t you reach out and touch one of their arms.”

Mai glances around for any sign of him, but she still couldn’t see anything. Slowly, she starts to shake her head. The last thing she wanted to do was touch the dolls more than she already had. She wasn’t sure if Kanato would be able to smell her scent on them. A chuckle behind her has her spinning around, but the only thing she can see is the dolls, though it feels like they had moved slightly. They weren’t all looking in the same direction anymore. It felt like some of them were looking at her. Her heart stops completely at the sight. Laito must have been trying to scare her by turning some of the faces in her general direction. She swallows hard and says in a soft voice. “Laito, this isn’t funny. I’m not going to give you another kiss just because I am scared.”

He simply chuckles at her from his hiding place. “Don’t worry, Sweetheart. I’m not after a kiss. I just want to answer your question. That’s what a good friend would do, isn’t it?”

Mai tries to keep from frantically looking for him. This was just another of his games. She bites back a comment about him being the worst friend she’s ever had. Instead, she releases a slow sigh. His voice is suddenly beside her ear. “Reach out and touch one.”

She attempts to spin around, but his arm wraps tightly around her waist. Her movement is halted, and her body is pulled back into his. She feels every muscle in her body tense. She tries not to think about home. She told herself that this was one step closer to some of the answers she sought. While she was trying to convince herself of the relevance of touching one of Kanato’s dolls, one of his hands runs down her arm to interlock his fingers with hers. His hand covers the top portion of her hand, leaving the palm free. He mutters playfully in her ear. “I’ll tell you something you want to know if you touch it.”

“Why are you so intent on me touching one? Is Kanato going to do something to me if I do?” Mai asks. Something wasn’t right. He drags both of their hands up. She tries to jerk her hand away, but he doesn’t seem to notice. His hand forces hers onto the arm of the nearest doll. A cold feeling runs through her body. It didn’t feel like wax, or even plastic. It was ice cold, like the floor beneath her feet, but it was softer than she expected it to be. Her hand remains there even when Laito pulls his away. She barely notices that he had completely pulled away from her. Her mind was trying to process why the doll would feel almost humanlike. She whispers softly. “Kanato’s amazing.”

She can hear Laito scoff playfully behind her. She glances over her shoulder at him, only to find that she was alone again. She turns and looks up at the doll that she was touching. Her heart stops completely. She recognized this one. It looked eerily like the one she had seen the night that she had let Laito kiss her. Her heart starts to race as she jerks her hand away from it. It was one of the eerie ones that was looking right at her. She starts to back away from it. It didn’t move, but her panic made her believe that she saw the chest move a little. Laito’s voice echoes once again. “They are so lifelike, aren’t they?”

Mai simply nods. Her body collides with one, and she uncharacteristically loses her balance along with the doll. The doll hits the ground first with a very soft thud. She lands half on top of it and quickly rolls away. Her face had touched the exposed parts of its’ shoulder. A shudder runs down her spine while she crawls away from it. She glances over to see that the doll she had touched was gone. Fear coats every inch of her body. “Laito, what is going on?”

“I promised to tell you something you wanted to know when you touched one, didn’t I?”

Mai frantically looks around for him. She flinches at the thought that she was even considering relying on such a cruel person. Instead, she decides to focuse on looking for the missing doll. She scrambles to her feet, since she felt more exposed sitting on her hands and knees. A chill runs down her spine when Laito’s low voice echoes loudly beside her. “You asked if they were made of wax. Well, they are not. What do you think they are made of?”

She grits her teeth. She didn’t want to play this sickening game, but she knew from experience that it would get her out of there quicker. “I don’t know. It doesn’t feel like plastic, either.”

Laito’s laugh echoes eerily around the room. Mai scrambles to her feet and quickly starts to walk between the rows of bridal dolls. Every so often, she’d find a large gap between them that made her pick up her pace. She would find the edge of the room and keep her back to it to prevent herself from being snuck up on. Mai glances behind her just to be sure that nothing was doing just that. The more dolls she passes, the more she feels panic threatening to take over. Laito’s mocking voice echoes around the room. “They were once human.”

Mai freezes in her tracks instantly. Her skin starts to crawl. “Wait.”

Laito laughs playfully. “That’s right! Kanato is so talented, isn’t he? He can make humans into dolls after they die. What you touched was the woman’s skin! Wasn’t it still so soft?”

Mai finds herself completely speechless. She spins on her heel to stare at the row of dolls. A sick feeling starts to rise up her throat. There were hundreds of women! A chilling thought forces its’ way to the front of her mind. Did this mean what she thought it meant? Was this what happened to the sacrificial brides? The image of Yui being preserved just as prettily comes to mind, making Mai feel even sicker to her stomach. “Is this…...what happens….. To the…..”

She found that she couldn’t even finish the question. The thought made her blood feel like ice. Laito seems to materialize right in front of her. He gives her a mock look of concern. “Ah, Sweetheart. Are you ok? You look like you want to throw up.”

Her hands were shaking violently. She kept telling herself that she had to know for sure. It wouldn’t do to assume that like this is what would happen to Yui. There would be no guessing when it came to Yui’s life. Mai opens her mouth, but Laito presses a cold finger to her lips, effectively killing any words she was going to say. He gives her a playful smile. “I don’t know if this is what happens to the sacrificial brides. Perhaps you should ask Ayato? He’s with the current one. I’m sure that he will be willing to tell you anything you want to know.”

She thought that his words sounded jealous, but his look and tone didn’t have a single hint of jealousy in them. He leans dangerously close to her face. Her eyes widen, but she doesn’t get a chance to pull away. His words halt her in her place. “I can see that you think I’m jealous. I’m not. I’ve got a different playtoy to use until the next bride comes along.”

Disgust fills Mai’s chest almost instantly. She knew that he was referring to her, but she doesn’t get a chance to retort, since he seems to vanish before her eyes once more. She tries to repress the shiver from racing down her spine. Her skin was still crawling, but she doesn’t get a chance to even think about the fact that she had touched dead skin.

“What are you doing here?” A cold voice rings through the room. Her body tenses. It was her worst nightmare coming true. She had been admiring his work, and he had shown up. She turns her attention to the purple haired vampire. He was still in his school uniform. Mai’s heart starts to race. How late had it gotten? He clenches his teddy bear even tighter in one arm and starts to stride toward her with a snarl on his face. “How did you get in here?”

“I… Laito….” She tries to figure out the words that she can say, but she flinches when he appears before her. His face looked angrier than before.

“You are saying that Laito brought you here?! Did the two of you do something terrible to my dolls?! Did you come here to destroy my work?!” He yells at her. His voice echoes off the walls around them, making it seem louder than it should have been. Distracted by this fact, she didn’t actually answer him right away, which seemed to anger him further. His hand lashes out to grab her forearm in a painfully tight grip. She releases a gasp of pain and says the first thing that pops into her head.

“Your dolls are beautiful!” She flinches at the fact that she was commenting on dead bodies. Her skin starts to crawl even worse. She wanted to get in the shower and wash off the fact that she had touched something that had once been alive, but she didn’t think she would ever get rid of the feeling. In fact, she could still feel the cold, soft flesh against her hand and face. It made her feel like throwing up all over again, but she tried to force a smile on her face. Kanato had stopped squeezing her arm, but he still had a tight grip on her. He tilts his head a little giving her a completely innocent look. She reminds herself that he was even more unstable than Laito.

“You like them?”

His voice was low and innocent sounding as well. Mai earnestly nods her head. She feels a sense of relief wash over her. Flattery seemed to cool his anger. Her heart starts to race when Kanato pulls lightly on her arm. He had a blood chilling smile on his face. He leans forward and says. “Do you want to know how I make them?”

Mai’s heart stops. Being around this purple haired vampire was probably more dangerous than being around Laito. There was no way that she wanted to know how he turned humans into dolls. Slowly, she nods her head, though. It would be best to get him talking. It would be the fastest way to get away from that room. With a deep breath, she tries to prepare herself to listen to what she had a feeling was going to be a warped tale of death and pain. The only upside she could think of was the fact that she could possibly ask Kanato about the brides.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! :D

Revulsion was the only way to describe how she was feeling at the moment. She found that she was only able to stare numbly at the purple haired vampire, who had a look of pure elation on his face. Her vocal cords felt like they had been frozen. He had been describing in disturbing detail about how he had made the last sacrificial bride into a doll. Apparently, he had considered not even using her, but it was a tradition of his, so he stuck her back in a corner. She was completely out of his sight, and she didn’t disrupt the rest of his collection. He described her as a scared little thing that had foul tasting blood. He said that it was so bitter that he was sure that she was spoiled. He then proceed to tell her about how ugly the girl had been. He easily slips to one of his favorites. He begins the process all over again. It was making Mai feel like throwing up. He described in excruciating detail about how he pulled out all of her internal organs one by one and treated her much the same as one would expect a taxidermist to do. 

Mai finds her shaking hands lifting to press against her mouth in an effort to keep a sob from leaking out. Her eyes lock with the floor between her feet. She couldn’t look at the purple haired vampire anymore, even if it was a danger to let him out of her sights. Bile feels like it’s rising up the back of her throat as the images just kept coming to mind. She just wanted him to stop talking about it. She wants to lift her hands to cover her ears, but she was pressing them against her mouth to keep herself from throating up. Kanato suddenly stops talking, which causes her heart to skip a beat. She didn’t dare look up as the seconds tick by. Had she offended him in some way? The thought brought a cold sweat to her skin. She jumps at the sound of his laughter. His laughter echoes around the room, making it seem even more insane than Mai thought he was. She drags her eyes from the ground to look up at him to give him a mixed look of horror and disgust. She swallows hard when she notices that, even though he was laughing, he seemed to be observing her closely. Every hair on her body raises on end. Her hands drop back to her sides and she forces a smile onto her face. She vaguely gestures around her. It might be better to keep him talking about the dolls than to have his undivided attention on her. They were creepier than ever now that she knew what they once were. She feels sick all over again at the thought of what they had gone through. Her voice is low and quaky when she asks, “so, do you only do women?”

He pulls his teddy bear tightly against his chest. The head rests just below his chin. He moves the bear a little higher, and he hides his lower face behind the top portion if its’ head. A look of morbid curiosity takes over his face, easily replacing the excitement. His voice is muffled and low. “Are you scared of me now?”

Mai flinches at the question. She takes a few steps back, though she’s careful to keep her eyes on him now. His mood was shifting, and that practically spelled a load of different problems. A look of sadness suddenly spreads over his face. She’s not sure why, but she instantly feels guilty. She gives her head a small shake in an attempt to clear the feeling away. She couldn’t afford to feel bad for the vampire. He was dangerous and twisted. With those thoughts in mind, she clears her throat. Maybe he’d feel better if she was honest with him. Not everyone liked honesty, but everyone hated being lied to. She tries to make her voice steady when she says. “I’m sorry, but yeah. I’m a little frightened.”

Tears well up in his eyes, making her heart race wildly. The irrational feelings of guilt threaten to consume her. She drags her eyes away from him to look at the dolls around her in an effort to quell the rising guilt. She flinches at the sheer number of lost lives, but she couldn’t look at him if he was going to cry. It made him look even more like a little kid. She tries to sound happy, but she knows that she fails miserably. “I mean, you did an amazing job. I thought they looked so realistic, and each dress is just so…”

“Please don’t do that.”

Involuntarily, her eyes snap back to him. To her utter shock, tears were gone, and he had lowered the teddy bear. In fact, there was no evidence that they had ever been there in the first place. Uncertainty races through her body at the chilling sight before her. He didn’t look irritated or anything. Simple curiosity was the only emotion that she could see on his face. When he takes a few steps toward her, she takes a step back. A cruel, yet amused, smile spreads over his face at her simple action. His eyes narrow for a moment before he brings the teddy bear back up, covering the bottom portion of his face again. His voice is muffled, but she can hear a chilling note to it. “Please don’t act interested when you are clearly disgusted with it. It’s exhausting to play such a stupid game.”

Mai’s heart feels like it stopped completely. His words had a biting edge to them, but they weren’t actually rude. It was chilling that he didn’t even sound upset. It was like he was almost talking in a monotone. She clears her throat and tries to calm her racing thoughts. She needed to say something that would make him happy again. She had a feeling that he was either going to laugh again or have a violent episode like he did last time. Silence stretches between them while she carefully considers what to say. It was nerve wrecking that she was only pulling up blanks. Finally, she takes a deep breath after a few moments and forces a smile back onto her face. “So, I have a question.”

He doesn’t answer or give her any indication that he planned to actually give her the go ahead to ask. Mai tries to maintain the smile on her face, but it quickly fades away at the look of morbid curiosity in his eyes. With a flinch, she realizes that’s his way of saying that she can ask her question. She finds it hard to find her voice, but she manages to ask. “It’s about Yui. I just…. I was wondering if she will be alright?”

Once again, he gives no indication of having heard her. She lets the minutes slip by before she decides to ask different question. “What are the sacrificial brides for?”

More silence. It was starting to frustrate her, but she moves onto the next question. “Do all of them have to die? Have any been released?”

Yet again, he doesn’t answer her. His grip on the teddy bear just gets tighter. Amusement filled his purple eyes. His mouth was hidden behind his bear, so she couldn’t tell if he was smiling or not. She had a feeling that he was though. Mai takes a deep breath and clenches her fists. She tries to keep the frustration out of her tone. “Do you know anything about women in white? I’m not meaning the dolls that you’ve made. I asked Laito, and he brought me here.”

Saying Laito’s name seems to actually get a reaction out of him. His body gives a slight jerk, and he lowers the teddy bear. “You are quite rude, aren’t you?”

Stunned by the response, Mai can only stupidly ask, “What?”

A look of frustration passes over his face before it disappears. It eerily reminded her of Laito. His voice is thick with anger. “You are talking about someone else while you are here with me. Were you thinking about that pervert while I was talking to you?”

Mai slowly starts to shake her head. Her thought process had been disrupted by the odd statement, which prevented her from actually forming words. The thought of him getting angry because she didn’t actually answer him makes her flinch. To her surprise, he didn’t actually look upset. Instead, a look of pure excitement had taken over his face. He takes a few more steps toward her, but she stubbornly holds her ground. She’s careful to keep an eye on his body the best she can. The last thing she wanted was him reaching out to slap her or something like that. He leans toward her once he’s close enough. She quickly leans away, but it doesn’t stop the chill from running down her spine. He lets out a low, almost sadistic sounding chuckle. Thankfully, he pulls back. “You smell different. Not a lot. I just noticed noticed it now that I was close enough to you.”

“Did you just smell me?” Mai flinches at her squeaky voice. Why was she asking such a stupid question? Her obvious discomfort seems to amuse Kanato even more. His purple eyes flick up and down her body, making her feel self conscious. She was only in a tank top and shorts. She wraps her arms around herself and takes a step back.

“I thought maybe you’d been a whore and slept with that pervert already, but that’s not it. You’d smell completely different, not just a little. Besides, you still smell like a virgin.”

Mai’s face turns a deep red color at his words, and she slips behind a doll to hide her embarrassment. She allows her gaze to wander around the room. She quickly moves around the dolls in an effort to put some distance between herself and the crazy purple haired vampire. It was eerily silent, which just made her pick up her pace. She had to get away from this room. She glances over her shoulder when something catches her attention. She slows to a stop and looks around herself. She was positive that she had just seen movement out of the corner of her eye. Her skin starts to crawl when movement a few rows over draws her attention. Her heartbeat starts to race, and she swallows hard and quickly starts to walk again. She breaks into a run when she hears a soft padding behind her. It was almost like barefeet was hitting the cold stone floor. A thought briefly occurs to her that maybe it was her own footsteps echoing back to her, but she pushes the thought out of her mind. She was sure that something was following her and she didn’t dare look over her shoulder.

Kanato materializes not far in front of her. Her breath catches in her throat, and she tries to change direction. Ice cold arms wrap around her waist, causing Mai to let out a mixed cry of surprise and fear. The chill seems to run all the way down into her bones. To her horror, she feels her feet leave the ground, and the arms seem to hold her even tighter. It felt like they were trying to crush the life from her. Mai struggles hard, but she stops when Kanato seems to appear before her once again. She didn’t think that she was very high in the air, but she still had to look down a little to see into his eyes. He tilts his head a little while he observes her. He had a thoughtful look on his face, like he was looking at a puzzle. Her gaze is drawn to a chilling sight over his shoulder. A woman in white was standing a good distance away. She was looking down, and her dark hair was covering her face. Mai had never felt as scared as she did then. It was a blood stopping sight to see a slightly glowing woman standing among the eerily pale dolls. A realization knocks the wind out of Mai’s chest. The woman in white was wearing a wedding dress.

Mai begins to thrash hard to get away, but it only earns cold laughter from the purple haired vampire. A violent squeeze effectively forces any remaining air from her lungs. For a brief moment, Mai goes limp, and she struggles to regain her breath. It’s just enough time for the purple haired vampire to move in closer. His hand painfully tangles in her hair. He gives it a sharp tug to snap her head back and expose her throat to him. He quickly leans in, and Mai can feel her entire body tense up. She reaches out to shove him away, but she stops just short of touching him when it sounds like he is sniffing her. Baffled, Mai simply returns to being limp, completely unsure on what to do.

“Ah, I hate to break this up, Kanato, but Sweetheart is needed on the phone!” Laito’s voice echoes around the room. It feels like Mai’s heart skips a beat. She flinches when Kanato’s hand tightens even worse in her hair. It feels like he is about to pull out a fist full of it, roots and all. Mai grits her teeth as the tension seems to rise in the room. Slowly, she feels Kanato pull away from her, but he stays closer to her than she’s comfortable with. His hand was still gripping her hair as well. He simply looks over his shoulder, preventing Mai from seeing his face. She could see Laito standing where the woman in white had been standing. It feels like the chills racing up and down her back are the cause of the goosebumps forming on her skin. Her eyes flick around to find the woman, but it seems like she’s gone. The cold arms start to squeeze Mai even tighter. She lets out a strangled gasp, which is ignored by both Laito and Kanato.

“Did you do something different to her?” Kanato’s voice was full of curiosity, and Mai had a feeling that it wouldn’t end well.

“Nope!” Laito’s voice had an almost sing song quality to it. Kanato’s hand tightens enough to earn a small hiss of pain from Mai, but, thankfully, neither vampire even looks her way. She feels the arms around her slowly letting go. It comes as a surprise that she wasn’t just left to fall into a heap on the floor. Kanato pulls his hand from her hair, much to her relief. Her movement halts the moment Kanato is no longer gripping her hair. She considers trying to break free, but she decides to just let herself dangle a short distance above the ground and glances over her shoulder. Her heart stops when she sees that it’s a doll that is standing behind her. Now, she just wants nothing more than to rip herself away the doll. Before she has a chance to do so, her attention is drawn back to the two vampires before her when she hears Kanato stepping away from her. He was almost pouting down at her.

Confusion fills Mai at that. Had she missed something? She’s doesn’t get a chance to ask though. She’s suddenly dropped to the floor in a painful heap. She lets out a soft groan before her gaze snaps up. Laito had gotten closer to her than she wanted him to be. She scoots away as quickly as she can. Thankfully, he didn’t make any attempt to reach out and grab her. Instead, he pulled his hand out of his hoodie pocket. He turns the phone to face Mai. Her eyes lock onto the face of it, and her heart skips a beat when she sees that her mom was currently calling. In the corner of the screen, she could see that it was nine in the morning. She leaps to her feet and lunges for it. Why did he always have to take away her only form of communication with the outside world? With a cruel smile, Laito moves it to the the opposite hand, easily evading her attempts to grab it. She lunges for it a second time, earning a chuckle from him. He twists his body, causing her to slam into his back. She leans enough to see her phone and tries to reach around him for it. He just lifts it out of her reach. With a huff, Mai pulls away from him. She settles for a cold glare. She couldn’t hear it vibrating anymore, but it didn’t matter. If she could get it, she could call her mom back. She clenches her fists tightly when he casts a playful smirk over his shoulder. He turns to face her once again and holds it only a few inches from her face. Mai slowly moves her hand to grab it. She tries not to feel hopeful when she gets close, but she fails to effectively crush the feeling. He hadn’t given any indication that he was going to move it. Once she is close, she moves quickly to snatch it. Her fingers brush his when he pulls it out of her reach once again. She allows her hand to drop to her side with a snarl. He was laughing at this point, which echoed around the room. It wasn’t as eerie as Kanato’s laugh. That thought sent a jolt down her spine, and she pushes the thought from her mind. She glances around for the shorter vampire, but she doesn’t see him. She turns her attention back to Laito and holds out her hand in a demanding way.

“Give it back.”

Laito makes a ‘tsk’ing noise and proceeds to pretend to look through her phone. Her anger rises, but she bites back the snarl threatening to tear itself from her throat. She casts a quick glance around herself just to ensure that Kanato really wasn’t there. Thankfully, it seemed like he was really gone. Laito’s vivid green eyes finally move from the phone back to her just as her attention was turning back to him. His voice is low and playful. “Oh, I forgot to tell you! Little Bitch wants to see you.”

It feels like cold water has been dumped over Mai. Her breath catches, and a sense of relief floods through her. She opens her mouth to ask him to take her to Yui, but she immediately closes her mouth. She didn’t want to ask his help for anything, since it always came at a cost. He lets out a low chuckle and slips her phone back into his pocket. He says with a mocking tone to his voice. “I told her that you were here to see her. She’s so excited and waiting patiently to see you! Are you going to deny her that?”

Mai grits her teeth. She had a feeling that this was going to come at a price that she wouldn’t like. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get a chance to accept or deny him. His arm lashes out and wraps around her waist. Before she can even struggle, the sickening feeling takes over, and she finds herself standing in Yui’s pink bedroom. She holds very still in order to keep the nauseous feeling from overwhelming her. That’s when she realizes that Laito wasn’t touching her anymore. A gasp has her looking over her shoulder.

Yui was already running at her, which prompts Mai to twist to face Yui. She barely had time to brace herself before her friend’s body collides with her own. Yui’s arms wrap around Mai’s middle, and the two go tumbling to the floor in a loud, painful heap. Yui’s weight serves to drive the air out of Mai’s lungs. Mai gasps for breath beneath the girl. It startled her how light Yui actually felt. It didn’t feel normal. Mai’s thoughts are pulled away from the realization when starts to ask questions in rapidly. “Are you ok? What happened? Where did he take you? Did he hurt you? What happened? Mai?”

Mai lets out a strained breath and says, “Please get off me. It’s hard to breath.”

“Ah!” Yui gasps and quickly detaches herself from her friend. She moves to sit beside Mai. She opens her mouth to likely ask more questions, but Mai lifts her hand up. She quickly sits up and turns to face her friend.

“Calm down. You are so worked up that you asked what happened twice. I don’t know where he took me.” A shiver runs down Mai’s spine at the memory of the dolls. She decides to be upfront with Yui and says, “It was a place with dolls that Kanato said were once human.”

Everything falls silent. Yui’s face was starting to look pale. It made Mai wonder if Yui had ever seen the dolls. Finally, she swallows hard and says softly, “Kanato told me that they were failed brides.”

Neither girl makes a sound for what feels like an eternity. Finally, Mai clears her throat and reaches out for Yui. She gently grabs her friend’s forearm and gives her a gentle squeeze. Keeping her voice soft and gentle, Mai says, “We need to get you out of here. I think you’ll end up…. Just like them. Let’s just go.”

Her voice had ended in an almost pleading whisper. Mai flinches at how weak she sounded. She starts to stand when she sees something that stops her heart. Yui was shaking her head slowly. Mai lets her weight fall back onto the floor, and she stares at her friend in complete disbelief. Yui simply stares at the floor between them intently. Her voice is barely audible. “I don’t…. Want to leave.”

Mai feels completely floored by the statement. Yui had been so scared only a few months ago, what had changed her mind? Mai scrambles to organize her thoughts. The more she watches Yui; the more she realizes that Yui was still afraid. There had to be something that was preventing Yui from wanting to leave. The only thing that comes to mind is the threat that she vaguely remembers Yui telling her about. Her voice is barely a whisper. “Is it because they threatened to hurt you if you left?”

Yui shakes her head a couple of times. A chilling thought occurs to Mai. She breathlessly says, “No.”

Yui finally looks up at her with a guilty expression. “He’s not as cruel as you think he is, Mai.”

Disbelief fills her chest. She can only stare at Yui in complete shock. She grips Yui’s forearm even tighter and says desperately. “Hasn’t he tortured you?”

Yui lightly shrugs and turns her gaze back to the ground. “He did before, but he’s gotten better. He isn’t as cruel now though. Actually, a lot of it is just him playing games. He likes pranks.”

Mai barely resists the urge to reach out and shake Yui. She couldn’t believe that this was happening. It was like Yui was trying to justify the mistreatment she had received. “But you’ll die!”

She couldn’t keep her voice down anymore. She releases her friend and scrambles to her feet. Yui quickly says, “I know you don’t like any of the Sakamakis, but Ayato is different. I wish that you could just…..”

Her voice quickly seems to just trail off. Mai patiently waits for Yui to find the words that she wanted to say. Yui remains fixated on the floor for a few minutes before finally whispering. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but you are the only friend I have. I want to have you and Ayato both in my life. It’d make it so much easier if the two of you got along.”

Mai closes her eyes tightly and releases a defeated sigh. She couldn’t stand to look at the disappointment on her friend’s face. Yui had looked like her dreams had been viciously crushed. Mai takes a moment to consider about her options. Yui was her only friend as well, and she knew that Yui was all alone with the six sadistic brothers. She had been for months. Mai flinches at that thought; she couldn’t imagine living with them that long. She opens her eyes to meet a hope filled red gaze. A small shred of respect starts to well up in Mai’s chest. Mai hadn’t spent much time in the house, but she felt like she was going insane every second that she was there. She didn’t think that she would have remained sane as long as Yui has. A sad feeling overwhelms her for a moment; it wasn’t a stretch to think that Yui was likely losing her mind. She looks over Yui’s now pleading face. Once again, she releases a defeated sigh and closes her eyes again. “Listen, Yui. Have you seen the dolls? They are creepy. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I knew I didn’t do everything I could have to save you. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay here.”

“Mai,” Yui’s practically painfilled voice fills Mai’s ears, but she just continues on like she didn’t even hear her friend.

“But, I can see that you really want me to give Ayato a chance. I honestly don’t know what you would see in such spoiled brats, but you know them better than I do. I can’t say I will give him a fair shot, because I really don’t like him. Still, I’ll try to give him the benefit of the doubt. There will be conditions though.” Mai made sure to keep her voice stern on the last part. She opens her eyes to see a smile had spread over Yui’s face. Yui was crawling to her feet when Mai says. “It isn’t going to stop me from trying to figure out how to get you out of this situation. It’s better to be prepared for the worst than it is to be wishing that we were. I’m also not going to let them push me or you around. Ok?”

Yui had paused once midway to standing, but she is standing by the end of Mai’s speech. The smile hadn’t left Yui’s face either, and she just leaps at Mai once more. Mai is able to brace herself enough that they don’t end up tipping over this time. Yui’s voice sounded horribly loud in her ear. “Thank you so much, Mai! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

Mai can’t stop the laugh from bubbling up and returns the hug. Yui pulls back and casts a curious look in Mai’s direction. For a moment, the look baffles Mai. Finally, Yui asks a question that stops Mai’s heart. “Does your mom and dad know that you are here?”

The memory of her mom calling her phone causes the heart to suddenly go from stopped to racing. Mai feels like the air has been knocked out of her lungs yet again. She swallows hard and shakes her head. Yui flinches and then gives Mai a clearly forced smile. She says. “It’s not that late, or I guess it’s early for you. Why don’t you call her and tell her where you are?”

“I can’t,” Mai whispers. Yui gives her another curious look. Mai flinches and reluctantly admits. “Laito took my phone.”

Yui frowns for a moment before a reassuring smile spreads over her face. She reaches out to lightly pat Mai on the shoulder. Mai just casts a frown at her. Yui says in a reassuring tone. “That’s not a problem! Let’s just go ask him for it.”

Dumbfounded, Mai finds herself staring silently at Yui, but she doesn’t even get a chance to agree or protest. Yui simply steps around Mai and hurries to the door. It takes Mai a moment to register what was happening and ends up scrambling after her. She tries to swallow her panic as she hurries down the hallway to catch up with Yui. It seemed like she knew where she was going, which shouldn’t have surprised Mai as much as it did. The hallway was so quiet that Mai felt bad about breaking it. She tries to keep her voice as soft as she can. “Do you think this is a good idea, Yui? I mean, this is Laito we are talking about.”

Yui glances back at her with another reassuring smile. She nods and says in a loud whisper. “Don’t worry about it, Mai. He’s scary, but I think you and I can handle him. You just have to figure out what he wants and try to compromise with him.”

Mai wanted to feel as confident as her friend, but she just couldn’t. It felt like she had tried compromising with him before, and it hadn’t ever worked. Laito always got what he wanted one way or another. She releases a slow breath in hopes of easing her nerves. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop her hands from shaking. She didn’t want to actively search him out, but she had to get a hold of her mother. She finds herself looking at the ground between her feet while she walks. Yui’s voice pulls her out of her thoughts. “What are you going to tell your mom?”

Mai lifts her gaze from the floor to meet crimson eyes for just a second when Yui happens to glance back. Mai hesitates for a moment before sighing. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just tell her I’m at the library studying for an exam or something and that I’ll be back later. I must have forgotten to leave a note, because I was tired this morning.”

Silence settles over them, and Yui slows to a stop. Mai barely stops in time. She had been looking at the ground again, so she hadn’t noticed Yui actually stopping. Her gaze is drawn back up to Yui’s back. Yui turns to look at her with a small frown, and she feels her heart start to sink. A sad look had settled over Yui’s usually happy looking face. Yui reaches out, but she stops just short of grabbing Mai’s hands. A pleading look starts to take over Yui’s face. She says in barely a whisper. “Why don’t you stay here for a while? I would appreciate the company.”

Mai flinches and immediately starts to shake her head. “There is no way in hell I would stay here. Not willingly at least.”

A pained look spreads over Yui’s face, and she glances off to the side. She mutters softly. “But how are you going to be able to get to know Ayato? You don’t go to our school anymore, so I don’t think you’ll ever get a chance to have a conversation with him.”

Mai closes her eyes and reaches up to rub her forehead in frustration. This felt like it was about to turn into a huge mess. “Look, Yui, I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to stay here. I’m already having a hard time with Laito without staying in the same place as him, and I know my parents would never agree to this.”

Yui releases a dejected sigh. Her voice is barely audible. “I’m sure that we could figure something out. Can’t you at least stay the night?”

With a frown, Mai silently observes her friend. Yui had light circles starting to form around her eyes. She was looking pale and thin. Mai’s heart sinks to the point that it feels like it’s sitting in the pit of her stomach. She closes her eyes tightly to keep from sighing. There was no way that she wanted to stay at the Sakamaki house, but she didn’t have the heart to flat out deny Yui again. She considers the pros and the cons of staying. She’d be closer to Latio, which was her biggest con. It felt like he would use this as an excuse to torture her as much as he wants. Or he freely invade her space. She wouldn’t have a moment of peace.

Suddenly, a different train of thought occurs to her. It causes her heart to skip a beat. Yui had mentioned the fact that Mai didn’t go to school with them. Her eyes glance around the hallway. That meant that she could stay and search the house while the brothers and Yui went to school. A feeling of hope starts to spread through her chest. What better place to start her search than the place where the sacrificial brides were sent? If anything, it meant that she could find out about what exactly happened the past brides, and how to stop Yui from sharing their fate. With a soft sigh, Mai says in stern voice. “Fine. I’ll stay tonight, but I don’t think a prolonged stay is going to be a good idea.”

Yui’s face lights up. A smile spreads over her face, and she lunges forward to give Mai a loose hug. She spins on her heel with renewed vigor and starts down the hallway at a faster pace than before. Mai can’t help but roll her eyes, but she didn’t even try stopping the smile from spreading over her face. She jogs to catch up to Yui, who was quicker than Mai thought she would be. Glancing at her friend, Mai realized that she didn’t think she would ever be able to understand Yui’s optimism. After all, it didn’t feel like her friend had anything to be optimistic about.

With a jolt, she realizes that Yui did have something to be optimistic about. Even if it was twisted and unimaginable, Yui loved Ayato. She truly believed that Ayato loved her back. Mai glances at her friend once more. It was strange to think that someone could love a cruel person, but she really didn’t know Ayato. With a frown, she realizes that she was judging Ayato off of his triplet brothers, which wasn’t fair for her to do so. She had only talked to him a few times, and he had pushed her around when he was taking Yui. Subaru had seemed violent and had been rude, but he hadn’t openly harmed Mai. Shuu didn’t seem normal, but he hadn’t shown any open hostility or even interest in her. Maybe Ayato was nicer than she assumed he was. She flinches at the last thought. There was no way that she could ever imagine him being nice. The name he had for Yui was enough evidence of that.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everything was quiet between the two while they quickly make their way down yet another hallway. Mai was beginning to wonder if they would ever get to Laito’s room. She just wanted to get it all over with. Her body had started to feel heavy. She had been up for most of the night and dealing with Kanato had felt worse than normal. A shiver runs down her spine at the memory. She freezes in her tracks when she hears Yui’s soft noise of surprise. Mai leans enough to look around her friend. She frowns, and her heart starts to race. Shuu was half slumped against the wall. His legs were stretched out in front of him, taking a decent amount of the walkway. It looked almost like he had passed out. Yui casts a glance full of concern at Mai, who returns it with a stern one. Mai whispers forcefully. “Yui, don’t. We are going to talk to Laito and get my phone back. That’s what we are doing. Just step over him and keep going.”

Her voice is low and full of concern. “But that can’t be comfortable. Look at him, Mai. He’ll get a kink in his neck. We have to at least wake him up and tell him to go to his room.”

Mai stubbornly shakes her head. She hisses out. “He’s not our concern, Yui. Let’s just leave him to his own devices. Are you asking to get bit? Because that’s what it seems like!”

Yui just gives Mai a frustrated glare, but neither get a chance to continue their quiet argument. A sigh of pure irritation draws both of their attention to the dark haired vampire standing just to the side of Shuu. His eyes are closed, and his arms are folded over his chest. His voice is calm but full of clear disdain. “How spoiled can you be? We do not need to step around your pathetic corpse.”

Shuu gives no indication that he even heard Reiji. Cold fury flints over Reiji’s face for a moment before he manages to regain his calm, collected look. When he opens his eyes, Reiji casts a look of disgust in his older brother’s direction. Mai and Yui remain silent while watching the encounter. Neither were sure what to do. Mai wanted to leave, but she didn’t know how to let Yui know without drawing unwanted attention. After a few seconds of silence pass by, Reiji calmly says, “Trash should be taken out in a timely manner, so it doesn’t begin to cause an odor and an unsightly mess.”

Mai tries to keep her jaw from dropping at the cold words that Reiji was using towards his own brother. Once again, Reiji closes his eyes and lets out a few soft spoken words that Mai couldn’t catch. The creepy old man seems to materialize out of the shadows to Reiji’s left. Mai felt frozen in place. Was he really going to throw his brother away like trash? Reiji’s voice is quiet when he says in a cold, uncaring tone. “You know what to do with the most unsightly trash. Do it quickly.”

Mai’s eyes lock onto the old man, who gives a slight bow and starts toward the oldest Sakamaki. Shuu still hadn’t acknowledged anyone around him. In fact, he hadn’t even moved an inch. It was like he was didn’t care what Reiji said or did to him. Mai wasn’t sure which of the two brothers shocked her more. Much to Mai’s mounting horror, Yui cries out. “Wait, Reiji!”

She hurries to stand beside Shuu, who still had not moved an inch. Mai could only stare at Yui with a sense of disbelief. She had just purposely put herself in harm’s way! Mai still found herself rooted to the spot. She wouldn’t admit it, but she was curiosity at how Yui would handle this situation. Yui gives Reiji a weak smile and says in an almost gentle voice. “Please don’t hurt him. If Mai and I can get him to move, you won’t have a problem, will you?”

Mai flinches at the fact that she was just unwillingly volunteered to help try to move the lazy vampire. She takes a small step back when Reiji’s cold red eyes land on her. She tries to keep her thoughts organized. The last thing that she needed was to panic and have Reiji exploit that simple weakness like he seemed to easily do. His eyes were burning with such cold fury that it was hard to even focus. All she wanted to do was back away. Thankfully, he turns his gaze back to Yui and says in a voice just as cold as his gaze, “Defile yourselves as you like. You have fifteen minutes to remove this eyesore from the hallway before I handle it myself. Afterwards, I’d like to see both of you. We have a few things to discuss.”

He seems to vanish right in front of their eyes. It sends a chill down her spin. She was positive that she would never get used to seeing that. Mai felt cold dread settle into her stomach, and she glares at her friend. Yui didn’t seem to notice, or she doesn’t care. She had fearlessly crouched down beside the blonde vampire and was lightly shaking his shoulder. She says softly “Shuu? Can you wake up? You’ve got to move away from here before Reiji comes back.”

He mutters something under his breath. Mai can’t stop herself from rolling her eyes and takes a few steps closer to the two. She was honestly starting to think that Shuu wouldn’t even bother to bite either of them, though she reminded herself that he was far from harmless. She had never seen someone so lazy. She watches Yui try prompting him once again. He speaks more clearly this time. “It’s too far.”

Yui gets a disgruntled look on her face. She says in a slightly frustrated tone. “Shuu, your room is only a few doors down. It’s really not that far. Come on, your bed is a lot more comfortable than the floor.”

He makes a soft chuckling noise. His eyes open, but he doesn’t look at Yui. Instead, his bright, blue eyes focus on Mai, who gives him the best cold look she could muster, but it was ruined by the fact that it was amusing watching Yui try and fail to be nice to someone who obviously didn’t care about her kindness. She had once again tried to gain his attention by shaking him a little harder, but he had closed his eyes and acted like he was going to go back to sleep. His next words wipe the amusement off Mai’s face. His voice is barely audible, but he was clearly enjoying himself. “If you two want me out of the hallway so bad, you can carry me.”

Shock fills Mai’s body, but it doesn’t last long. Seconds later red, hot anger fills her stomach and spreads outwards. She snaps. “Yui, we should just leave him here to Reiji.”

“Mai!” Yui sounded horrified. Mai pulls her gaze from the blonde to meet Yui’s wide crimson gaze. 

“He doesn’t really want our help though! Look at him. This is a game to him! Do you seriously want to risk straining your back or giving yourself a hernia trying to carry him?” Mai asks sternly. “We just need to do what we originally planned to do.”

Mai steps further down the hallway, but she feels a hand grabbing the bottom of her shorts. To her horror, they slide down a little. Mai scrambles to catch them before too much of her body was revealed. Luckily, only a small portion of her underwear was visible before she pulls them back up. Much to her relief, the hand had disappeared from her clothes. She turns to face Yui, who had a mirrored look of horror on her face. She quickly says, “I am so sorry, Mai! I didn’t think they would slide so easily! I didn’t….”

Mai raises her hand and waves it in front of her face. She was fighting to keep the blush off of her face. Trying to ignore her embarrassment, she says, “I know it was an accident. Don’t worry about it.”

A chuckle stops any further conversation from taking place. Both turn their attention back to Shuu. A small smile was spread over his face. He says a little louder than last time. “Could you be any more of a prude?”

Both girls’ faces flush a deep red color. Mai barely resists the urge to kick him, but the last thing she needed to do was to invoke his anger. Once again, she reminds herself that he may be lazy, but it was likely masking his true strength. She flinches a little and settles for just glaring down at him. Yui clears her throat and gives Mai with a hopeful smile. “Let’s just get him to his room.”

Mai turns a look of pure disbelief on her friend. She couldn’t stop her voice from sounding higher than it should have. “You mean carry him?”

Yui nods. A frown overtakes her face, and she glances back at Shuu, who looked like he had gone to sleep. She turns a pleading gaze back to Mai. “We can’t just leave him here. I think Reiji will really hurt him.”

Mai flinches at those words. Reiji did always seem to follow through on his promises. It made an uncomfortable feeling of guilt settle into the pit of her stomach. She didn’t really know Shuu, and he had said a few cruel things to her, but he hadn’t actually done anything to her. She hated to admit it, but it wouldn’t sit well with her conscious if she just left him to be ‘thrown out’ and didn’t even try to help. Yui voice cuts through her thoughts easily. “If you don’t want to, I understand. I can do it myself.”

Yui moves to one of Shuu’s sides. She pulls his arm up and over her shoulder and casts a hopeful look Mai’s way, despite saying that she would do it herself. Mai flinches at the look, sighs in defeat, and quickly hurries to his other side. Yui gives her a grateful smile, but it isn’t returned. Her heart was racing wildly, and she takes a deep breath in order to steel her nerves. She reaches down to grab the sleeve of his sweater and offers a quick, silent prayer that he doesn’t try to bite either them. She crouches down and pulls his arm over her shoulder. She keeps a hold of his wrist and uses her other arm to wrap around his waist. Yui’s arm overlaps hers, and she glances at Yui from around Shuu’s head. Once they are both sure of their hold on the vampire, Mai gives a nod, and they both attempt to stand.

Mai lets out a small, strained sound in the back of her throat. She faintly hears him muttering that she should try to sound sexier when she’s under a man, but she simply ignores him. They had finally made it to their feet, and Shuu was not doing a single thing to help them. He was leaning awkwardly more Mai’s way than Yui’s, which struck Mai as odd considering she was little taller than her friend. He weighed more than Mai thought he should have. His head was slumped forward, giving him an almost drunk appearance. Mai could feel her legs shaking as the two girls slowly started taking steps down the seemingly endless hallway. His feet dragged awkwardly behind them due to the fact that he was taller than both of them. It didn’t come as a surprise that Shuu didn’t even bother trying to stop his feet from doing so. Mai wouldn’t ever admit it, but he smelled better than she thought he would. It was almost like an aftershave that she couldn’t identify. Or maybe it was cologne. Either way, he smelled as if he had gotten out of the shower not long ago, but his hair looked dry, so she couldn’t be sure. Mai glances Yui’s way. It was clear she was having a hard time keeping Shuu upright. Sweat had her hair sticking to the edges of her face and along her neck; she was panting hard as well. Worry builds in Mai’s chest. Would they be able to make it in time? Something soft brushes along her face, drawing her attention down to Shuu. His head had rolled her way, and the tips of his hair was brushing her lower jaw and neck. A shiver races down her spine at the tickling feeling. She instantly looked forward again. They were closing in on the door Yui had mentioned, so she forced herself to see a positive note to the fact that his hair was touching her. At least it was his hair and not his teeth.

It felt like an eternity of dragging the limp vampire, but they finally made it to his room. Mai had wanted to just drop him onto the floor once they were inside, but Yui had begged her to at least make it to his bed. Mai had gritted her teeth, but she didn’t argue like she wanted to. Panic settles into her chest the further the girls walk into Shuu’s room. The room was dark, so Mai couldn’t make out a lot of what was inside. Still, the bed was large and unmistakable. Both girls were completely out of breath and sweating by the time they got to the bed. It comes as a pleasent surprise that he didn’t grab either one when they drop him face down on the bed. Mai wasn’t sure how, but they had managed to get him more on the bed than off. Both sink to the floor and lean against the side of Shuu’s bed. Mai wondered just how out of shape the two were, since they were both sweating badly and gasping for breath. It really hadn’t been that far, but it had fully exhausted both. In fact, Mai’s muscles felt like they were protesting more than they should have been. She felt a wave of sleepiness spread over her. Her eyes felt so heavy that she was having a hard time keeping them open. The room suddenly felt warm and cozy. Mai jerks when Yui whispers. “It smells so nice in here. Isn’t that weird?”

Mai can’t stop the smile from forming over her face. It was good to know that she wasn’t the only one who thought so. She glances in the direction Yui’s voice had came from. All she saw was a dark outline of her friend leaning against the bed as well. Mai was desperately fighting sleep. She mutters softly. “It’s a teenage boy’s room. It’s downright freaky that it smells like anything other than body odor. Is that what you are saying?”

Yui lets out a soft giggle. “I suppose it is. I always heard that boys stink.”

Mai couldn’t stop herself. She playfully says, “Do you believe they have cooties, too?”

Yui starts to laugh quietly. Mai leans her head back against the mattress. A few blissful seconds pass before Mai remembers with a jolt that a vampire was closer to them than she liked. She uses the edge of the bed to scramble to her feet. She casts a cautious glance at Shuu, though it doesn’t come as a surprise to see him laying face down still. She was mildly surprised to see that he had moved his arms up so he could use them as a pillow. Yui seems to get the silent message. She quickly climbs to her feet, and they both quietly leave. Yui once again leads the way down the hallway. She says over her shoulder. “His door is the last one on the left.”

Mai gives a determined nod and quickly keeps up with Yui, despite the protest her muscles are practically screaming at her. They couldn’t get this over with fast enough.  
_____________________________________________________________

They had been standing silently outside the closed door for the past few minutes. Mai shares a glance with Yui, who gives her a nervous smile. Finally working up the courage, Mai reaches out to knock softly on the door. Anxiety rushes over her body as they wait. Nothing happens after a few minutes. Mai knocks a little louder. Again, nothing happens. The two share a confused look before turning their attention back to the door. Mai lifts her hand to knock even louder, but Yui reaches forward and grabs the door handle. Before Mai can stop her, she opens the door.

“Yui!” Mai seethes softly. “You can’t just go into people’s rooms!”

Yui gives her a nervous smile and slips around Mai to step into the room. Her voice is quiet when she asks, “Laito? Are you sleeping?”

Mai rolls her eyes and quickly follows her friend. To her surprise, the two find Laito resting on the bed. It was dark in his room, so it was hard to tell if he was actually sleeping or not. The only light was around the edges of the curtains and the soft glow of the light from the hallway pouring through the doorway. Mai reaches out to grab Yui, but her hand misses by a few inches when Yui quickly starts toward the bed. Her heart skips a beat in pure panic. Who knew what crude thing Laito would do to her when she approached his bed, but Mai felt as if she was rooted to the spot. She keeps her voice as low as possible. “Yui! Wait!”

Yui had already made it to Laito’s bed at that point. Mai’s heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest. Determination overtakes the fear, and she takes a cautious step into the dark room. She takes only a few steps before a voice stops her in her tracks. “What do the two of you want?”

Laito’s voice was low, like sleep was still clinging to him. Mai could see the dark outline of his body shifting on his bed. He slowly sits up, but it seemed like his attention was on Yui. It sounded like she was trying to be strong, but her voice still wavered a little. “We were hoping that you would give Mai her phone back, so she can call her mom.”

It was silent for a few seconds. When he actually does speak, Laito didn’t even acknowledge Yui’s words. Instead, he says. “It’s late. Aren’t the two of you tired? If you want some company, you are welcome to join me. I can even thoroughly exhaust you if you’d like.”

Despite the fact that he says stuff like that all the time, they didn’t carry the same playfully lustful tone they usually did. In fact, Mai felt almost like he was frustrated at them for interrupting his sleep. She takes another step forward and says, “If you give me my phone back, we will leave you alone sooner.”

A usual chuckle erupts from him, but it sends a chill down Mai’s spine. There was a cold undertone to even his chuckle. She felt like something was off about him. He shifts in his bed, but he hadn’t gotten out. It wasn’t like him to not approach either of the girls. Yui seemed to sense it as well, since she had moved to stand beside Mai. Both had backed toward the door. The light was behind them, which made Mai feel a little more at ease. With any hope, he wouldn’t be able to see the worried look on her face. She was sure that he would jump at the chance to take advantage of her weakness. Laito shifts again and says, “Kanato is right. There is a subtle shift in your scent. I hadn’t noticed it before.”

Anger fills Mai’s chest. It felt like he was dodging their request. She clenches her fists tightly, but she tries to think about the situation from his point of view. He was probably expecting them to come up with some condition for returning the phone. It would make it easier to carry out later. He could just say that they offered. With a sigh, Mai says softly. “What do you want in return for my phone?”

She can see a dull glow light up part of his face when he wakes her phone up. Her heart skips a beat at the sight of it. It looked like she might have a few notifications. A playful smirk was now clearly visible on his face thanks to her phone. His voice sounded like he was back to his normal playful self. “I do have something in mind. How about I tell you about it later though. For now, the two of you can come lay down with me!”

Mai stubbornly shakes her head, but she doesn’t get a chance to say anything back. Yui says softly. “Laito, can you please give her phone back? I’ll make you something sweet to eat if you do.”

Mai casts a quick glance at Yui, but she quickly turns her attention back to Laito. He had started to laugh. He says in a mocking tone. “I’m not Kanato, Little Bitch. I don’t want sweets. I’d rather have a…. Fun alternative in return of doing you a favor.”

“What do you want, then?” Mai asks. She just wanted this to be over as soon as possible. Laito is silent for a few minutes. Yui steps close enough that she is pressing lightly into Mai’s side.

Her voice is barely above a whisper when she asks. “Do you want some of my blood, then?”

Laito’s laugh sounded genuinely amused, and Mai glances at Yui with a frown. Mai does actually reach out to shake her friend this time. Still, she couldn’t keep the shock from her voice when she says “Are you insane? Don’t offer something like that to him!”

Laito’s voice is right beside Mai’s ear. “Now, now. To vampires, blood is everything.”

The playful sound makes her flinch back toward the hallway. He holds her phone up in the light pouring in from the hallway. Now that she was closer, she could see that she had a text message and a missed call. Mai resists the urge to reach out for the phone. She knew that she wouldn’t ever get away from him unless he handed it to her. Instead, she settles for just glowering at him. He tilts his head with a feigned thoughtful look. He suddenly holds her phone out toward her, but she doesn’t make any move to grab it. There was always a catch when it came to him. His voice is still playful. “Did the two of you have fun with Shuu?”

Yui is the one who reacts. She gasps softly and worriedly asks. “How did you know we were around him?”

Laito lets out a chuckle and turns his attention to her. Mai takes this moment to think about every possible way that Laito could use holding her phone to his advantage. She hears Latio telling Yui that she was airheaded, since she hadn’t even learned that vampires had a good sense of smell. It was going to get her in trouble with a certain someone. Yui’s face pales, and Mai glances at her curiously. Her heart sinks when she realizes why Yui looked so upset. Laito suddenly turns his attention back to Mai before she can even try to comfort her friend. He steps into the light, so she can see him better. He gives her a look of mock adoration, to which she almost flips him off. Mai reaches out to grab her friend and tugs her back toward the hallway. “Come on, Yui. He isn’t going to give it to us. We might as well leave and figure something else out.”

Before Mai can step out of his reach, Laito slips her phone into the pocket of her shorts. She doesn’t release Yui, but she quickly steps back another step. He gives her a wink and turns to head back to the bed. He says just loud enough for the two girls to hear. “I’ll see you tonight, Sweetheart. Good luck, Little Bitch.”

Mai doesn’t get a chance to retort. The words seem to wake Yui out of her worried stupor, and she past Mai. She starts sprinting down the hallway. Mai quickly grabs the door and pulls it closed behind her with a slam and rushes after her friend. She casts a look back when she thought she felt someone watching her, but she didn’t see anything right away. She turns her attention back to find that Yui had disappeared from her sight. She puts more energy into forcing herself to run faster. It felt like her heart was beating in her throat. Yui had looked so scared, and that made dread feel like it was freezing the blood in her veins. Ayato wouldn’t actually hurt Yui for helping Shuu, would he? Yui’s door is closed when Mai gets there, but she could hear thumping sounds behind it. She quickly jerks the door open to find Yui had changed her clothes. Mai quickly slips in and shuts the door behind her. “Yui?”

Yui flinches and looks up at Mai and offers a nervous smile. “I just… I can’t….”

Both jump when their sight of each other is cut off by another body seeming to materialize between them. Mai looks up into cold, vivid green eyes. She wasn’t sure if he was tired or irritated, but he gives her a blank look before he turns his attention back to Yui. He reaches out to grab her, and they are gone before Mai can even protest. She just silently stares at the spot that Ayato and Yui had been standing. She reaches up to rub her forehead with a sign. Worry for her friend was threatening to take over her body. She wanted to help Yui, but she had no idea where his room was. The last thing she could do was walk into rooms uninvited. The chances of her finding Ayato’s first off and not Kanato or Reiji’s was close to zero.

She feels a wave of exhaustion wash over her again. She glances at Yui’s bed. Maybe she should take a short nap? Then she could get up and look for her answers. The thought of taking a shower crosses her mind, but she reluctantly pushes that thought out of her mind. She could do it after they went to school. She wouldn’t have to worry about someone sneaking in while she was cleaning herself. With a small sense of relief, she decides that she was going to nap, shower, and look for the answers she needed in that exact order. 

Still, she had one more thing to do before she could lay down to sleep. She reaches into her pocket and pulls her phone out. She gives it a lazy inspection, but she can’t find anything actually wrong with it. After waking it up, she immediately reads the text. It wasn’t surprising that it was from her mother asking that Mai call her when she got a chance. Mai’s heart skips a beat, and she suddenly feels wide awake once more. Her mother’s text didn’t sound nearly as concerned as it should have been, since it was already eleven in the morning. Mai immediately goes to her contacts and calls her mother.

She answers after only a couple of rings. Her voice sounded distracted, which set off another bout of worry in Mai’s stomach. “Hello?”

“Mom!” Mai says. Her mind pulls a blank immediately afterwards. She had been about to tell her the truth, but she managed to stop herself. What was she going to tell her mother again? How was she going to ask her if she could stay the night with Yui?

“Hello, sweetie. Are you having fun with your friends?”

Confusion fills Mai’s chest. Her mother didn’t even seem worried at all. “What?”

“I got your note this morning. Thanks for leaving it for me. I would have worried about you otherwise and called you more times. I didn’t know you had more than one friend! Why didn’t you tell us? We would have been so relieved! You know that we’ve been worried about you only hanging out with that Yui girl.”

Mai was at a loss on what to say. Her mother sounded so relieved that Mai didn’t have the heart to tell her that she didn’t have any friends other than Yui, and she hadn’t left a note for her this morning. Laito hadn’t given her a chance. She closes her eyes tightly. Still, that didn’t do anything to ease the dread from swelling in her chest. “I’m sorry?”

Her mother’s laugh rings through the phone. The sound makes Mai’s chest start to ache. Her mother says in a relieved tone. “You’ll have to bring them by next time. What time are you going to be home? You said that you were going to catch up with them and find out about how everything school has been going.”

“Um…” She was at a loss on what to say. She had no idea what her mother was talking about. Her mother lets out another relieved laugh.

“You must be busy with your friends. Well, don’t worry about it. Try not to stay too late!”

“Mom?” It sounded almost like her mother was about to hang up. After a few heart stopping seconds, her mother replies.

“Yes?” Mai takes a deep breath and releases it. She didn’t want to have to do this, but it would give her more time, and she had promised Yui that she would stay. After all, the brothers would be going to school tonight, so she could sleep in Yui’s room until then. She didn’t try to convince herself that she would be safe though. Her eyes slowly glide around the room. It felt huge and lonely without her friend. Worry bubbles in her stomach. She could still see those creepy human bride dolls. Her mother’s worried voice cuts through her thoughts. “Mai? Are you feeling ok? Do you need me to come pick you up?”

“No!” Mai flinches at the fact that she had answered way too fast and forceful.

“Ok,” her mother replies suspiciously. Mai quickly swallows hard and quickly steels her nerves to ask her mom the next question.

“Actually, I was wondering if I can stay over at my friend’s house? Just for the night. It’s a female friend, I promise!”

Her mother is oddly silent. Mai could feel herself gripping her phone tightly. She closes her eyes silently urging her mother to say no, even though she still wanted answers. To her dismay, her mother says in an unsure tone. “Sure. You are seventeen, after all. Besides, I trust you, so I suppose it’s fine. Just be careful. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Thanks, mom,” she quickly says and hangs up before anything more could be said. She stares at the pink bed with a sense of disbelief. The first thing to come to mind was the fact that her mom had gotten some note. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was Laito’s doing yet again. The next thing to come to mind was the fact that she had just willingly asked to stay at creepy house full of vampires. She flinches. She briefly wonders if she was changing. The answer felt almost obvious. She could feel that she was. There wasn’t a shred of surprise when Ayato had appeared out of thin air and taken Yui away. There wasn’t any surprise when Reiji had appeared either. She wraps her arms around her stomach suddenly feeling sick. She pushes the disturbing thoughts out of her head. She had promised Yui that she would give Ayato a chance, but she didn’t think it would be possible now that she saw how scared Yui seemed to be of him. Maybe Mai should get her out willingly or not. She was finally in the position to do so. She slowly makes her way toward the bed, but she pauses halfway there. She glances at the door, and, without a second thought, she hurries back to lock it. It might not help at all, but it still made her feel a little safer. She hurries to Yui’s bed and crawls in. Yui was so kind and caring that Mai didn’t think Yui would mind her using it. The bed seems to erase all of her troubles and help her think clearly for a moment. She would ask Yui about her behavior before she passed any sort of judgement. It was the least she could do for her friend after Yui had literally stuck her neck out with Laito.

Mai flinches at the thought. She rolls onto her side and tries not to think about the fact that Yui seemed to handle the brothers better than Mai expected. It was only making her worry grow. Instead, she focuses on the fact that she was still hurting from helping to carry Shuu. She starts to doze, but her mind races wildly. She had a feeling that she really should set an alarm so she didn’t waste any time sleeping. The house was huge, so she wanted to cover as much as she could. The last thing she wanted to do was have to come back if she got interrupted halfway through.

With a jolt, she realizes that the two were supposed to go talk to Reiji. The mattress just starts to lull her back to sleep again. There was nothing that she could do now. After all, Ayato had taken Yui with him, and she couldn’t remember how to get to the room Reiji had made her clean. She lifts her arms to wrap loosely around the pillow she was using. Her body felt like it was floating on a cloud. Just as she’s about to slip under, she feels the bed shift, but it does little to wake her up. She doesn’t bother to look over her shoulder, though she knows that she should. She hadn’t heard the door open, so it probably wasn’t Yui. Still, she was too tired to care much anymore. She closes her eyes as the fight against exhaustion was getting harder and harder to win. The mattress wasn’t actually helping either.

“Good night, Sweetheart.” A soft voice cooes against the skin on the back of her neck, but Mai had already dozed off. She didn’t feel the cold arm wrapping around her waist, nor did she feel the fingers tracing along the side of her abdomen. Those fingers lightly brush along various parts of her body that hadn’t been touched before. She shifts in her sleep when a chuckle brushes her ear, but she doesn’t wake up. The hand finally stops exploring, but it does slip beneath her tank top and come to rest just below her bra. Everything in the room falls silent aside from Mai’s gentle breathing.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter gets a little dark in a couple places. I still hope that you guys enjoy it though! Thank you for reading!

Her body didn’t want to wake up. The warm, soft, fluffy bed under her aching body was making it hard to even form a coherent thought. She rolls onto her stomach, buries her face into a pillow, and releases a soft groan into the pillow. It was sad to think about, but the pillow was more comfortable than her entire bed at home. A small tendril of jealousy twists its’ way around her stomach. Did all rich people live so comfortably? That train of thought quickly disappears when she feels movement beside her. Her eyes snap open though her face is still buried. She silently hopes that it’s Yui, but she vaguely remembers that she had felt someone getting in bed with her, yet she hadn’t heard the door opening. She mentally curses herself for letting her guard down. Her body tenses when an arm loosely wraps around her waist. Thankfully, it doesn’t try to pull her closer to the body. She closes her eyes tightly and lets out a slow breath that she hadn’t even realized that she had been holding. She feels a little movement followed by a deep moaning noise that seems to freeze the blood in her veins. She lifts her head just enough to turn and see who is lying beside her. Her heart stops completely when the sight of Laito’s sleeping face fills her vision. She finds herself unable to even move. In fact, she finds herself holding her breath, and she has to remind herself to breathe. She was positive that he was only feigning sleep, but the longer she looked at him, the more she realized that it was more likely that he was actually sleeping. His breath was even, and his face had an almost innocent look.

She hated to admit it, but he looked harmless while he slept. He looked just like any other teenager she’d ever met. She lets her head drop back onto the pillow, but she keeps it turned so that she can observe him silently. He wasn’t resting under the blankets with her, which came as a huge relief. Now that actually had the time to really look at him, she found him a lot more attractive than she had thought. It crosses her mind that the most likely cause was the fact that he wasn’t talking, which makes her have to bite back a chuckle. He shifts in his sleep, causing a jolt of panic to set her heart racing. 

Slowly, she starts to move her body away from his. She had already wasted enough time staring at him, and she needed to make her get away while he was still sleeping. Making sure to keep an eye on him, she manages to slip off of the bed. She tenses when he lets out another strange moaning noise and shifts onto his side so his back was facing her. For the first time since she had discovered he was in bed with her, she pulls her eyes away from him and glances at the door. The room seemed even larger than normal. She turns her attention back to find that he looked like he was still asleep. She reaches down and carefully searches for her phone around the pillow. Her heart races every time that he moves or moans, but she’s able to locate the phone without waking him. She shoves it into her pocket, locks her gaze back onto him, and backs toward the door.

She flinches when he moans yet again. Now that she thought about it, it sounded almost like he was moaning in pleasure. Was he was having a dirty dream? The thought brings a blush to her face, and her thoughts begin to run wild. She was acting like she was sneaking away from a one night stand. The thought was only made worse at the fact that she was actually in his house. She sternly reminds herself that she was in her friend’s room, and the simple thought of sleeping with someone like Laito was nothing short of disturbing. She sucks in a low breath to keep from gasping loudly when her back bumps into the door. Relief floods through her entire body. It didn’t look like Laito had woken up yet, so she felt like she was going to slip away without a problem. Quickly, Mai spins around and grabs the door handle. She slowly turns it in order to keep from making unneeded noise and slowly pulls the door open. Just as she almost has it open enough to slip through, she glances back to make sure Laito was still asleep.

The breath in her lungs rushes out in a quiet, relieved sounding noise. She turns back to the door to leave, but her heart stops. Glaring down at her was a set of cold, red eyes. A chill runs down her spine, and she finds herself rooted to the spot. A soft spoken ‘sorry’ draws her attention downward. Yui was standing between Mai and Reiji looking guilty. Mait wanted to feel surprised that she hadn’t seen Yui, but she couldn’t get around the terror that she was feeling. She tenses when she feels Laito lightly pressing against her back. His arm comes to rest against the doorframe just above her head, prompting her to take a small step toward Yui and Reiji. She glances over her shoulder to see Laito giving Reiji a playful smile. It’s only silent for a few moments before Reiji says, “Laito, it’s rude to do such activities in someone else’s room. Do you have even a shred of decency in your body?”

Mai’s head snaps back to glare up at Reiji. She opens her mouth to correct him, but a cold hand covers her mouth. She reaches up to grab Laito’s wrist, but he responds by pulling her back into his body. He lets out an amused laugh and says playfully. “Is that what you are here about Reiji? If so, I’m terribly sorry to Little Bitch, but she seemed to be otherwise preoccupied.”

A look of irritation flashes over Reiji’s face, but it’s quickly smoothed away into his normal, calm mask. Mai drops her gaze to Yui, who had started to look pale. Reiji’s voice seems to fade away as Mai watches Yui slowly reach out and put her hand on the doorframe to brace herself. Mai jerks roughly on Laito’s hand interrupting their conversation. She turns the best she can to look up at him with a glare, but he just gives her a grin in response.

“Hey!”

The voice echoes down the hallway, drawing all of their attention in that direction. Mai couldn’t see out into the hallway due to Reiji and Yui being in the way, but she didn’t need to see him in order to know that Ayato didn’t sound happy. She barely notices the cold hand falling to her shoulder, and his other hand comes to rest on her other shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, Mai notices Yui’s eyes widen in apparent panic. The sight sends her heart racing as well. With a sigh, Reiji turns to face his brother when comes to as stop beside him.

Ayato glares up at him. His hand reaches around to grab a hold of Yui’s upper arm. A sharp tug has her bumping into Reiji before sliding past him. Yui releases a sharp breath when Ayato pulls her close and possessively wrapping his arm around her waist. Her hands lift to try to put some distance between the two, but she was clearly losing the struggle, since Ayato didn’t appear to be trying or even giving her the time of day. 

Mai tries to step forward, but a weight presses down on her shoulders, preventing her from moving. She flinches when she feels Laito’s hands grip her shoulders to the point that it was starting to hurt. She glances over her shoulder at him in hopes that he would see her pained look and ease up a little. Unfortunately, he wasn’t looking at her though. An almost gleeful look was on his face, while he watches the exchange between Reiji and Ayato. Ayato practically growls at Reiji, drawing Mai’s gaze back to him. “What right do you have to come into Yours Truly’s room and take what belongs to me?!”

Irritation wells up in Mai’s chest at the fact that Ayato was treating her friend like an object, but a squeeze from Laito draws her attention back to him for a moment. He glances at her and gives her a playful wink before he turns his attention back to his brothers. Mai frowns at him for a moment before looking back at the two in front of her. Reiji says in a cold, yet calm, tone. “Ayato, she has a guest that she must entertain. It is rude of both of you to just abandon her guest. She must fully perform her duties as a hostess.”

“Bullshit!” Ayato snaps.

“I’ll entertain her!” Laito says with feigned excitement.

Both had spoken at the same time, but, upon hearing Laito’s words, Mai says softly. “Like hell I want you to entertain me. I’m sure that’ll be bad for my health.”

Everything falls silent, causing every muscle in Mai’s body to tense. She drags her gaze from Reiji to Ayato just in time to see the look of pure anger in his eyes. With a jolt, she realizes that he was likely blaming her for Reiji taking Yui away from him. She can see Yui was giving her an apologetic gaze just at the edge of her vision. She didn’t even bother looking back at Laito to see how he reacted to her outburst. She turns her attention back to Reiji, who had a look that sent chills down her spine. He was wearing a cold, disapproving look, and she finds herself taking a small step backwards. Her back presses lightly into Laito’s chest, which she can feel him chuckling as well as hearing him. It feels like if she tenses anymore, her muscles would snap. Thankfully, Yui breaks the silence. Her voice was barely audible and clearly she was was nervous about saying, “Um, I’m sorry for…”

“Don’t apologize!” Ayato snaps, sounding clearly frustrated. He digs his fist into the back of her head, causing her let out a soft squeak of pain. Mai jerks forward to try to help her friend, but an arm wraps around her shoulders, effectively pulling her back against Laito again. She sends a frustrated look over her shoulder at him. His vivid green eyes meet hers, and he casts another wink in her direction. Reiji releases an almost annoyed sounding sigh.

“Human, why are you here?” It took Mai a moment to realize that he was talking to her. She quickly pulls her gaze away from Laito to stare at Reiji. She couldn’t help but feel a little offended by the fact that he felt the need to point out that she was human. She clenches one of her fists to keep from pointing out the fact that Reiji was being rude. She didn’t want to end up with her hands whipped again. She uses the other hand to reach up and lightly tug on Laito’s sleeve.

“It wasn’t my choice,” Mai says softly. She was trying to keep the anger from her voice, but she flinches when she realizes that she failed. Reiji lets out a soft scoffing sound and narrows his eyes at her a little. It was almost like he was silently daring her to act out.

“Are you saying that we are keeping you here against your will?”

Mai firmly keeps her mouth closed. She couldn’t just blurt out the first thing that came to mind, which would have had her answering yes. It felt almost like he was trying to bait her into saying something that she shouldn’t. Everything is silent for a few more seconds. Finally, Reiji says coldly. “I would like you to answer my question, human. I have things to do, and you are wasting my time.”

Chills race up and down her spine, and she finds that she’s not as angry about the fact that he had called her human this time. An almost amused glint had appeared in Reiji’s eyes. She stubbornly keeps her mouth closed, but she jumps when a low chuckle rings in her ear. She didn’t dare turn her head to look at Laito, since she knew that he was closer than she wanted him to be. His voice is low, almost husky, in her ear when he says. “You better answer him, Sweetheart. He isn’t always patient.”

Mai closes her eyes and takes a slow breath in an effort to calm her nerves. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work, and she can feel her hands shaking. Her thoughts race wildly, and she has no idea what she should say. She had a feeling that if she told him that she was there against her will, it would end badly for her. She couldn’t explain what she thought he would do to her, but she couldn’t shake the sinking feeling; however, she didn’t want to say that she was willingly visiting the Sakamki household either. Tension seems to mount as the silence stretches, so she chooses the best option that she can think of. “I…. I wanted to see Yui.”

Ayato lets out a sound of pure irritation. Mai’s gaze moves from Reiji’s amused face back to Ayato. He gives her a coldly furious look that causes panic to start to swell in her chest. He seems to squeeze Yui even harder, causing a look of pain to flint across her face. Mai tries to step forward, but Laito pulls her back once more. He coos softly in her ear. “Now, now. You don’t want to bother dear Ayato anymore than you already have. He’s got quite the temper, you know.”

Mai casts an annoyed look back at him then turns to say something to Ayato, but the words die in her throat. Reiji had moved closer while she was distracted by Laito. He had his arms crossed and was staring down at her with a calm, almost detached look. His voice seems to echo around the hallway. “You attend a new day school, do you not?”

It feels like a lump forms in her throat. Frustration at herself starts to build in her stomach. It’s only made worse when Laito starts to lean more weight onto her. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate. Mai tries to elbow Laito, but it ends up not having enough strength behind it. His breath tickles her neck when he chuckles at her failed attempt. A shiver runs throughout her body, and she tries to focus only on an increasingly impatient Reiji. She flinches at the cold glare he is giving her and quickly says, “I do school online during the day. I can’t get into any of the high schools around here.”

He doesn’t hesitate to jump into questioning her, though he didn’t seem particularly interested. “Do your parents know where you are?”

She nods quickly. There was no way that she was going to say that she lied and said that she was with a different friend. That would be like serving herself up on a silver platter, and she wasn’t that stupid. Reiji just continues on with his questions. “Who invited you here?”

That question stumps Mai for a moment. She didn’t want to say Yui invited her if it got her friend in trouble. She couldn’t see Yui’s face to gauge her reaction. Reiji reaches forward, causing Mai to flinch back into Laito. She can feel that he was chuckling again. His breath brushes along her jaw, and she considers taking a step forward but quickly pushes the thought away once she sees Reiji’s amused look once more, though she wasn’t sure which one would be worse. Her mind begins to race wildly, and a perfect excuse pops into her mind. Trying to put as much confidence as she can behind her words, she says. “No one invited me. I came to see Yui and return the clothes she lent me.”

Everything is silent for a few moments. Reiji’s face was once more a mask of collected calm. It felt almost like he was expecting her to say something more. Slowly, she tries to retain her confidence and says. “I remembered that you asked me to return them, but I was busy trying to adjust to my new life. I finally found the time to make my way over here, and I thought I’d visit her while I was here. I told my parents that I would be staying the night with Yui, so we had time to catch up.”

Reiji just calmly stares down at her. The silence drags on so long that worry begins to fill Mai’s stomach. Was he going to call her bluff? It’s silent for so long that when her stomach growls, it’s easily heard. Mai’s face flushes in embarrassment at how loud it was. She hadn’t had time to really think about how long it had been since she last ate. Laito had taken her the night before, and she was sure that it was nearing nightfall now. She tenses when she hears two different laughs. One is coming from behind her, though it doesn’t surprise her that Laito was laughing at her humiliation. Her heart skips a beat when Laito lets his forehead fall onto her shoulder. The other is coming from a very amused Ayato. Her humiliation is only made worse by Reiji letting out a sigh like he was dealing with a small, annoying child. Mai’s eyes drop to the ground, though she’s not sure why. It wasn’t her fault that she was hungry. It was a natural human feeling.

“Yui, you have a couple of hours before school. Tend to your guest’s need. Ayato, Laito, leave the two of them be.” Reiji turns his gaze back to Mai. He says in a low dangerous voice. “I was not informed that someone was approaching the house. I will let it slip this time, but you would do well to not lie to me in the future.”

Mai doesn’t get a chance to even say anything to him; he just vanishes before her eyes. Yui’s face was pale, but she tried to give Mai a reassuring smile. Mai tried to smile back, but she knows that she fails miserably since it felt more like she was grimacing. She tenses when she feels Laito’s body leave hers, and she glances over her shoulder. Relief relaxes the muscles in her body when she finds that he had completely disappeared. Mai turns back to find Ayato’s face inches from hers. She opens her mouth to ask him to back away, but she doesn’t get a chance. Ayato reaches out and shoves her hard. She stumbles back, but just as she gets her balance. He steps forward to shove her once again. This time she ends up on her butt. She hears Yui gasping, but Mai keeps her gaze on Ayato. He angrily glares down at her. “Stupid bitch. Yui belongs to Yours Truly!”

“She’s a person, not an object!” Mai snaps without a second thought. Yui appears from behind Ayato with a frustrated look on her face and reaches out to grab his arm. Mai glances at her friend to see that the frustrated look had melted into a more pleading look.

Her tone matches her face. “Please, Ayato! She didn’t do anything! Please don’t hurt her!”

A cruel smirk spreads over his face, causing Mai’s heart to start racing. Neither of the girls gets a chance to even think about reacting to it. Ayato’s arm suddenly wraps around Yui’s waist pulling her into his body once again. While he was pulling her close, his other hand moves her hair to the side. His head swoops down just as her skin is revealed. Yui lets out a soft sound of pain that is mixed with a slight hint of pleasure. Ayato makes a muffled chuckling sound.

Mai finds that she was rooted to the spot. She wanted to jump up and help her friend, but she found that shock had completely numbed everything. She hadn’t expected Ayato to abruptly bite her friend right in front of her. His green eyes shift to stare into Mai’s face with a clearly amused look. Mai’s face pales even further when Yui starts to make a soft, almost gurgle of pleasure. It’s made even worse when it sounds almost like she moaned his name only seconds later. Mai scrambles to her feet and quickly makes her way toward the door. Her face felt like it was on fire, and she was completely horrified. Her thoughts were in a jumble, but she was sure of one thing. She was thankful that she hadn’t seen Yui’s face. She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Yui seemed to be enjoying it. Every time that Laito had bitten her, it had been painful to some degree. Just as she makes it to the still open door, she hears Ayato’s amused voice saying. “She is mine. Get it now, bitch?”

Mai pauses and makes the mistake of glancing back at him. Her eyes widen when she sees that Yui looks limp in his arm. Her face was frighteningly pale, and Mai wasn’t even sure that she was breathing. She turns to help her friend, but he makes a scoffing sound. His vivid green eyes tear away from Mai to look down at Yui. For a moment, a soft look spreads over his face, but it’s gone before Mai can even be sure. The sight stops her cold and causes her to take a step. She repeatedly tells herself that she had only imagined it. Ayato seems to easily scoop Yui up, turns his back to Mai, and walks toward the bed. Without watching any more, Mai turns and hurries down the hallway without bothering to close the door behind her. Her thoughts kept circling back around to the fact that she felt like she had just intruded on something either very private or very perverted. Maybe it was both. She stop in the middle of the hallway and starts to rub her face, though she’s not sure why. Rubbing wouldn’t get the sounds out of her head, nor would it erase the image of her friend lying limply in Ayato’s arms. She releases a frustrated groan when her stomach growls. She didn’t want to eat after what had just happened. In fact, she felt like she was going to be sick. Goosebumps form over her arms, and she lets out a shuddering breath. “Did that just happen? Did he really think that I was trying to take her away?”

She freezes almost instantly. Her skin felt like it was crawling. She was almost positive that someone was watching her. Slowly, she turns her head to look over her shoulder at the seemingly empty hallway. Her eyes search every visible place, but she doesn’t find anyone. Still, the feeling was getting stronger by the second. She swallows hard and whispers, “Laito?”

Silence is her only answer. She slowly looks back the way she was headed only to find that no one was there either. A loud growl from her stomach has her flinching. She didn’t have a destination in mind when she had left Yui’s room, but she was starting to wonder if she should see about getting some food. With a sinking feeling, she reminds herself that the last thing she wanted to do was eat their food without permission. It’d turn into some sort of twisted repayment issue. A scoff from behind her has her spinning around once more. Her heart stops when she finds Subaru glaring down at her. She takes a step back and offers him a smile, which only serves to cause him to stare at her in an even colder manner. He’s the first to break the uncomfortable silence. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Mai quickly licks her lips. Her mouth and throat felt insanely dry, and she flinches when her stomach growls before she has a chance to tell him what she was doing. She could feel her face flushing from pure embarrassment. She tries to keep the smile on her face, but she can feel it slipping already. He had an annoyed look on his face, which was making it harder to keep her resolve. Finally, her gaze drops to the floor between them. His voice sounded rough and full of irritation. “I asked you a question, you damn human!”

Mai’s gaze snaps back up to look at Subaru with a glare. A heated look of pure anger settles onto his face. She quickly tries to smooth the irritation off her face and says, “I’m….”

She hesitates, unsure of what to say. A slight flush was starting to take over Subaru’s face, and she could see that he was clenching shaking fists. This prompted her to quickly say. “I came to visit Yui, so I told my parents I was staying the night here.”

He makes a scoffing sound, which is quickly followed by her stomach growling again. She fixates her gaze on the floor between her again. It’s silent for a few minutes. Her stomach growls a couple more times. Each time has her face flushing a deeper red. Finally, she hears a sigh coming from Subaru’s direction. She lifts her gaze to find him glancing around. “Where is she?”

It takes Mai a second to realize that he was asking about Yui. She swallows hard for a moment when a question bubbles to the surface. She looks back at the floor trying to ignore the growl that comes from the silver haired vampire before her. She hears him take a step toward her and quickly lifts her gaze to look at him. “Does it always hurt when your blood is sucked?”

She could swear that she saw his entire body stiffen for a second. His eyes widen slightly, then they narrow back down into what she assumed was his normal look of pure anger. She takes a step back, and her heart starts to race. She silently asks herself if she could be any more stupid than she was being right then. Upon seeing the retreating movement, Subaru’s anger seems to melt away into cruel amusement. She found that was even more terrifying than his anger. A heart stopping smile spreads over his face, and he takes a long stride toward her. She considered standing her ground, but Subaru’s eyes seemed to glow with an unnatural light. It made all the warning bells she possessed go off at once. She had to get away from him, or something bad would happen. Her feet start to retreat backwards down the hallway. A coldly amused smile had taken over his face. His voice is low and dangerous. “Are you really curious?”

Mai quickly shakes her head. “No, it was a stupid question. I’ll ask someone else.”

She tries to continue her retreat down the hallway, but Subaru’s hand lashes out to grab her upper arm. Luckily, she’s able to roll her shoulder back in order to avoid his grasp; she twists her body to the side just to be safe. Unfortunately, Subaru doesn’t skip a beat. He quickly changes direction and pushes her in just the right direction that her back painfully collides with the wall. Her luck runs out, since she doesn’t get a chance to dart away. Subaru had quickly followed after her and was using his arms to cage her in. She gives him a stubborn look and reaches up to put her hands over the sides of her neck. He just gives a laugh before leaning dangerously close to her face. She couldn’t help but feel that he was trying to intimidate her. Sadly, it was working perfectly. She quickly says the first thing that pops into her head. “I’m sorry I asked you such a strange question! I shouldn’t have! I’m sorry, but it’s just that I like you! I know it’s foolish, but I thought I could trust you not to lie to me!”

He jerks back with a mixed look of disgust and anger. To her relief, his hands drop from the wall. In response to that, she gives him the best smile she can muster. He lets out a scoffing sound and leans back toward her, causing her smile to melt away. Maybe her plan to flatter him hadn’t worked. She bites back a whimper and clenches her fists. If he planned to go through with biting her, she wasn’t going to just stand there and take it. He stops inches from her face once more. His voice has a strange undertone that she can’t identify. “You don’t know me. How can you possibly say that you like me?”

He chuckles darkly and says coldly, “you must be a special kind of stupid.”

Mai completely ignores the insult. She takes a moment to carefully consider her words, so she didn’t upset him even more. She doesn’t get long though. Subaru didn’t seem as patient as some of the other brothers. He slams one of his hands into the wall. Mai flinches when the side of her face and neck is peppered with chunks of plaster. Fear rushes through her veins, and she quickly says. “You’re right. I don’t know you. We haven’t had much of a chance to talk, but I have a feeling that you are a good person.”

He scoffs, but that mixed look is back on his face. This time it doesn’t melt away into anger. Mai feels her heart skip a beat, and she reaches up to lightly pat his forearm. He jerks his arm back with a snarl. She just gives him a weak smile in return, though she was expecting him to tell her not to touch him. Her stomach growls loudly, and she quickly seizes her way out of the awkward situation. “Are you hungry?”

He just stares at her with an almost hateful look on his face, though she could swear that she saw faint traces of pain in his red eyes. She decides not to dwell on it too much. Instead, she says, “Look, I know that you can hear my stomach growling. I haven’t eaten in a while, and I am starving. Why don’t I make us both some food? Time is ticking, and you’ll have to go to school soon.”

He makes a sound of disgust in the back of his throat, but he finally steps away from her. Without saying another word, he turns and starts down the hallway. Releasing a sigh of relief, Mai takes the silent hint and quickly follows after him.  
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He didn’t seem interested in telling her what he wanted to eat, nor did he even try to help her. He just leaned against the furthest wall and watched while she tried to fix up something easy and hard to screw up. It took her longer than it should have, since she had to wander around the kitchen and find the ingredients, plates, pans, and other things she needed. Finally, she manages to get the scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes onto two different plates. She turns to smile at Subaru, only to jump when vivid green eyes fill her vision. She hears a scoffing sound behind Laito, and Subaru appears to the side of her and takes the fuller plate. Mai glances his way in hopes that he would help her, but he had already disappeared behind Laito. She hears him say. “I brought her here, so this food is mine.”

Laito glances over his shoulder with a chuckle. “I wasn’t interested in your food, little brother.”

“Don’t call me that, whore.”

Laito lets out another chuckle and turns his attention back to Mai. She twists her body to the side in an effort to hide the other plate from Laito. She gives him a cold glare and says, “This is mine.”

She quickly steps around him and starts toward the table. She could hear a sigh from behind her, but it didn’t sound like Laito was frustrated or anything. It sounded almost like he was amused, which sent a chill down her spine. She decides to ignore him and sets the plate on the table. She doesn’t get a chance to even pull out a chair, since two, cold arms scoop her up, and she finds herself sitting in Laito’s lap. Subaru makes a noise of disgust, but he turns his attention back to the already half eaten food. Mai quickly tries to wiggle out of Laito’s lap, but he just keeps an arm firmly wrapped around her waist. She continues to wiggle until she sees her fork hovering just in front of her mouth. Disbelief fills her body, and she turns her head enough to glare at Laito out of the corner of her eye. He just gives her a playful smirk and says. “Be careful! I wouldn’t want to stab you. Now, say ‘ah’, Sweetheart.”

She immediately starts to struggle even harder to get away. “Like hell I’m letting you feed me!”

“Ah, why not?” he asks with a feigned hurt tone. She just struggles harder. She flinches when her knee collides hard with the table, jolting it. She hears a snarl from Subaru’s direction and stops just long enough to look up into angry, red eyes.

“You two are fucking disgusting.” He’s gone as soon as he finishes saying that. To Mai’s surprise, he had finished all of his food. She flinches when she realizes that she was now alone with Laito.

“Let g-” She doesn’t get a chance to even finish the demand. A mouthful of egg and pancake is shoved into her mouth. She coughs around the food, but she manages to start chewing it. After swallowing, she lifts her hand to cover her mouth and snaps. “Let go of me!”

He lets out a cooing sound and leans in so that his cold nose brushes her jaw. She pulls away to glare at him from behind her hand. He sets the fork down and reaches up to grab the rim of his hat. His voice had a teasing hint to it when he says. “I see that you like Subaru. Is that the type you like?”

“What?” She asks feeling dumbfounded. He sounded completely amused, but there was a slight hint in his eyes that suggested otherwise. With a jolt, she realizes that she had seen that look before; it was the night that he had bitten her for the first time. Her heart starts to hammer against her chest, and she lets her hand drop to the table, so she can struggle with renewed vigor. It doesn’t seem to make a difference though, since he was easily holding her still with just one arm. She feels him shifting behind her. Her struggling stops when she feels something light land on her head. She glances over her shoulder to see him giving her a cold smile. His hand drops from the side of her head to grab the fork. She didn’t pull her gaze away from his face though. He lifts the fork once more, and she stubbornly keeps her mouth shut. To her surprise, he didn’t stop once he got near her mouth. Instead, he just continued on to take a bite for himself. She cringes at the fact that he was using her fork, and she silently hoped that he didn’t plan to feed her anymore. To distract herself, she reaches up to bump what he had put on her head. He lets out a chuckle, causing her to cringe again. He had put his hat on her head. She grabs the rim to pull it off, but her body freezes at the coldly amused look on his face. It was like he was daring her to take it off. Doubt fills her stomach, and her hand slowly drops back to the table. The fork appears before her mouth, and she keeps her lips sealed shut. He lets out an almost dark sounding chuckle.

“Sweetheart, you have to eat.” A chill races down her spine at the terrifying undertone. It clearly wasn’t a spoken threat, but she had never felt more threatened in her life. She turns her face away from the food and grabs the rim of his fedora. She pulls it off her head and reaches out to put it onto the table. That’s when the unthinkable happens.

The arm that he was using to keep her in his lap moves, but she doesn’t get time to escape. His hand had slipped between her legs, sending a shock through her body. She tries to leap up, but his hand grabs her inner thigh in a painful grip. She ends up standing awkwardly against the table with tears of pain in her eyes. She drops the fedora onto the floor and reaches down to grab his wrist to try to pry his hand off, but he just squeezes it tighter. She was positive that she was going to have a bruise in the shape of his hand on her thigh. Trying not to think about it, she sinks back into his lap. To her relief, his grip loosens. He bumps her lips with the fork, but she stubbornly refuses to open her mouth. She flinches when she feels a puff of air right next to her ear. She closes her eyes tightly and reminds herself that she was there for a reason. She could put up with anything that he threw at her. Her body jerks, and she gasps when his fingers move further up her leg. The fork is shoved into her mouth before she has a chance to close it. She slowly opens her eyes as the fork returns to the plate with a soft clinking noise. The thought of sharing silverware with him didn’t concern her anymore. The thing that concerned her the most was the fact that he got her to do exactly what he wanted. She slowly chews her food and swallows.

She gives up and just takes bites when he offers them to her. After each bite, his grip on her thigh loosed until his hand is simply resting against her. She keeps her eyes closed while she eats. It was easier than seeing the almost smug smirk on his face. She tenses when he presses his face into her shoulder. His breath was brushing any skin exposed by her tank top. He lets out a soft sounding chuckle. She grits her teeth and opens her eyes to glare at the empty plate. She reaches down to grab his hand when he starts to rub slowly down her thigh toward her knee. She knew it’d be only a matter of time before he moved it back up, and she didn’t want him thinking that he could touch her in areas that he had no right touching.

Panic sets in when he does, in fact, start to slowly move back up her leg, despite her efforts to keep his hand still. She releases his wrist and shoves both of her hands between her legs in an effort to block her sensitive area from his roaming hand. She quickly turns her gaze to glare angrily at him. He gives her a playful smile, which she answers with a frown. Her thoughts were racing wildly. She needed to distract him, but she wasn’t sure how she could accomplish that. She says the only thing that pops into her head. “Why does Yui let Ayato drink her blood?”

His hand pauses beside hers. She could feel the cold emanating from him, and she barely represses a shiver. Maybe if she kept him talking she could slip away from him. She couldn’t help but feel hopeless for a moment. She quickly pushes the feeling away. This wasn’t the time to give up. A blood chilling chuckle seems to escape his throat, while he watches her internal struggle. He leans forward to whisper in her ear. “You are wondering if it feels good to be bitten? Would you like me to show you?”

She quickly shakes her head, but he doesn’t seem to notice. An uneasy sensation settles in her stomach, which is made worse by him saying. “Close your eyes if you don’t want to get sick.”

She barely has time to close her eyes, before she feels a rush of movement. To her relief, it doesn’t make her sick this time, but the relief is short lived. The second she opens her eyes, she feels herself being pushed forward. She stumbles a couple of steps before her legs collide with something soft. A hand appears between her shoulder blades, and she finds herself being bent awkwardly over a green clad bed. She pushes her hands into the mattress in a panic, but he presses his weight against her from behind. She struggles as hard as she can, but it’s all in vain. Her heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was crawling up her throat. She lets out a soft whimper into the mattress and closes her eyes tightly. She silently offers a prayer that he wouldn’t do what she thought he was about to do. She forces her body to go limp, tries to focus on her breathing, and starts to count to ten. Her only hope was that he would get bored. Once she silently reaches ten, she goes through a list of what she hoped to find tonight.

It felt like forever had passed. Just as she was hoping that he was in fact bored, she felt his hands on her hips. He leans more weight over the top of her and lets out a soft chuckle directly into her ear. She squeezes her eyes closed tightly, and her breath hitches in her throat. He presses his hips into her from behind, causing her body to tense up even more. She digs her hands into the bedding and tries to keep counting. His voice disrupts her thoughts when he says, “Do you want to play a game?”

She shakes her head the best she can while biting back a sob. He lets out an almost whining sound, causing her body to tense even more. He leans more weight on her and makes a cooing sound in her ear. She shudders at the sound, which earns a chuckle from him. His low, lustful voice seems to echo loudly in her head. “Are you enjoying this?”

“Who would enjoy this?” Her voice is muffled against the mattress, but she didn’t care. What did bother her was the fact that it came off as weak and muffled. She twists her body in an attempt to elbow him hard in the side. To her utter relief, she manages to actually elbow him. He lets out a grunt, which sends a thrill of delight through her body. His body shifts just enough that she is able to plant her feet firmly on the ground and kick off. Her hands grip the blanket in an effort to help pull herself away from him. Her body slides out from under him and onto the bed. Intent on not remaining there any longer than needed, she drops from all fours to her stomach and proceeds to roll herself off the bottom of the bed. She hits the floor hard enough to force the air from her lungs in the form of a pained gasp, but she doesn’t let that stop her. She rolls to her hands and knees then scrambles to her feet. 

Hope fills her chest, and she bolts across his semi empty room. She couldn’t believe her luck when her hand grabs the cold door handle. She gets it open a few inches before a hand slams against it just beside her head. She simply lets the door slam shut. The hope shrivels and dies in her chest. She knew something like this would happen, and instantly felt foolish for feeling any sort of hope. She twists her body around to face him and doubles her fist. She swings at his face, but his hand catches her wrist, slamming it back into the door behind her. She releases a hiss of pain. A look of pure amusement appears on his face; it felt almost like he was taunting her. He leans down just enough that his face is inches from hers, cementing the fact that he was taunting her. A cold thought occurs to her, which must of flickered across her face as fear since an amused smirk spreads over his face. Before she can press her legs together, his knee forces it’s way between them. She bites back a groan when he lifts it up violently, catching her in the pelvis. He uses the wrist he was holding to help lift her until she is on the tips of her toes. Pain races down her arm, bringing a slight sting of tears to her eyes. If she let herself slip down even a little, his knee would dig into her pelvis, and he would be straining the muscles in her shoulder. She found that she didn’t have any choice other than to bear all of her weight uncomfortably on the tips of her toes.

His voice is low, almost dangerous sounding. “Now, now, sweetheart. We are having a good time! Why are you trying to leave? I had something important I wanted to show you.”

She quickly shakes her head. “No, I don’t want to know.”

He gives her a playful smile and leans forward to run his tongue up the side of her neck, leaving a cold trail of saliva behind. She closes her eyes and tries to lean away. Unfortunately, she leans right into the arm that he had used to close the door. He says in a barely audible voice. “For the question you asked Subaru, yes. It can feel good. I could almost call it addicting.”

She flinches when he shifts his knee, causing it to brush lightly along her sensitive area. She draws a breath in and holds it while closing her eyes. It was all she could do to repress the shudder that threatened to race down her spine. She lets out a strangled gasp when she feels him lightly dragging his fangs along the skin of her neck and opens her eyes. It was stupid to take them off of the predator before her. He releases a chuckle and pulls his head away from her, allowing her to give him a cold glare. He gives her a mocking look of love in return. She finds herself panting softly. She takes a moment to look his face over. With a jolt, she realizes that it wasn’t even an attempt at mocking a loving look. It was closer to a lustful look than a loving one. He was just better at acting than she thought he was. It made her heart sink. She would have to try harder than she wanted to in order to get the information she wanted from him. The hand on the door suddenly moves to grab the collar of her tank top. She reaches up with her free hand to grab his wrist tightly. Without meaning to, she gives him a pleading look. He visibly shudders and lets out a moan. His voice is husky when he leans to one side in order to whisper in her ear. “You are making it difficult to concentrate right now. You look almost like you want me to do something… fun…..”

His voice trails off suggestively. She barely manages to whisper. “No, I just… I was just curious. Yui… Yui… seemed to enjoy being bitten, but it’s only hurt me.”

She closes her eyes tightly when he shifts his leg again, rubbing against her once again. She forcibly swallows and lets out a shuddering breath. He huskily chuckles against the skin of her throat. Before she has a chance to really think about what he might be planning, a sharp pain just above her collarbone has her gasping. The pain disappears just as fast as it had appeared. Her entire body tenses when the next sensation takes over her body. Her head falls back against the door with a thump that she barely hears, and she tries to keep her head clear.

Her body throbs pleasantly with each gulp he takes. It felt completely different from every other time he had bitten her. She still could feel a slight sting between his gulps, but an overwhelming sense of pleasure kept rushing through her veins. She finally gives in and closes her eyes. Her teeth find her bottom lip, and she bites it hard. A metallic taste fills her mouth. The taste and pain help to clear her mind a little. She releases her lips and slowly opens her eyes. She manages to let out a slow breath. She feels him move away from her body, though she’s faintly aware of the fact that he had taken a moment to lick where he had bitten her. A husky chuckle seems to echo loudly in her ears. He kisses further down her chest, stopping just at the top of her breast. Thankfully, her pulls back, and she found that she was once again holding her breath. She reaches out with her free hand to push weakly on his chest. She mutters softly. “Laito… Stop….”

He lets out a dangerous sounding chuckle. A lustful look takes over his face, and he leans forward. “Now, now, Sweetheart. Bad girls need to be punished.”

Her mind couldn’t make sense of his words. What could he possibly be talking about? She doesn’t get a chance to really think about the deeper meaning to his words. He looked like he was about to lick her mouth this time. She jerks her head back and turns her face away. It was like cold water had been thrown over her. Her collarbone wasn’t throbbing, which didn’t seem normal. She flinches when his hand grabs her chin and settles for glaring at him, which doesn’t bother him. He turns her face to look at him, and horror runs through her body when his face approaches hers. She puts her hand against his chest and pushes awkwardly. It doesn’t come as a surprise to her that it doesn’t do anything to help. When she wiggles, he shifts his knee. A shiver runs down her spine at the sensation. Everything felt like it was hypersensitive at the moment, and it prompts her to stop wiggling instantly.

She didn’t want to close her eyes, which she instantly regretted the very next moment. She thought that he was going to kiss her, but she was sorely wrong. She flinches when she feels his tongue run along her bottom lip. He presses his body against hers, allowing her to feel just how excited he had become. She considers telling him to get off her again, but the thought of opening her mouth while his tongue was still licking her bottom lip chased the thought away. She settles for trying to shift again. He releases a loud moan when her thigh brushes against his bulge. She flinches and forces herself to remain very still. He lets out a soft moan this time and presses his lips against hers in an almost uncharastically gentle kiss.

She tried to keep her lips firmly closed, but his hand falls from her wrist. She presses harder against the door to keep him from grabbing her butt, but he does something she didn’t expect. His fingers find their way between her body and his knee. Her body jerks violently the second he lightly rubs the apex of her thighs, and she ends up opening her mouth just enough to gasp. She didn’t think it was a lot, but it was enough that he managed to wiggle his tongue in, which wasn’t completely unexpected. The gentleness of the kiss seems to disappear the second he invades, making her believe that it was nothing more than a ploy to get her to lower her guard. It seemed like he was planning to lazily explore her mouth. She lets out a few noisy breaths through her nose, but she felt like she was starting to suffocate. He moves his fingers again, causing her body to jerk, but her gasp is muffled by his tongue.

She wasn’t sure what made her do it. She just knew that she wanted his tongue out of her mouth so she could breathe properly again. She bites down hard onto his tongue. Just as she bites down, he strokes her through her shorts, causing another jolt. She hears him make a noise of pain and pulls his face away from her. A nasty metallic taste fills her mouth, setting her heart racing. She proceeds to put her hands on whatever part of his body that she can and shoves as hard as she can. She drops to her knees and proceeds to spit the blood out of her mouth. She ignores the chuckle coming from him, and she reaches up to childishly wipe her tongue clean. Her gaze jerks up to glare at Laito when he squats before her. An almost elated look was on his face, sending a strange shiver down her spine. She couldn’t help but wonder if he got off on the fact that she had just bitten his tongue rather hard. He reaches out toward her face, making her flinch away. It doesn’t deter him though. His fingers still brush along her jawline, and his voice sounds genuinely husky when he whispers to her. “Did you enjoy tasting me?”

She makes a show out of wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand. She doesn’t get a chance to verbally reply though, since there was a soft knock on the door behind her. Her heart skips a beat, and it starts to race again when she hears a very welcome voice drifting through the door. “Laito? I was wondering if you know where Mai went? Subaru says he saw the two of you together in the kitchen, but I didn’t see either of you there.”

Relief floods through her body. She wouldn’t fool herself into thinking that she had been saved, but she still felt a nagging hope in the pit of her stomach that Yui would be able to help her. She twists her body and climbs to her feet. She tenses when she feels a breath moving the hair on the back of her head. She hesitates to glance over her shoulder, but she finally manages to. Laito was too close for comfort and gives her an almost cheeky smirk. There is another knock on the door, and, without taking her eyes off Laito, Mai reaches out and grabs the handle.

She pauses for a moment, as if daring him to try to stop her. In fact, she expected him to, but he doesn’t move a single muscle. It sent a shiver down her spine, and every warning bell starts to ring. Still, the temptation of being free was too much for her to pass up. With a quick twist of her wrist, the door opens. She turns her attention forward and lunges out, slamming into Yui. She regrets it seconds later when she hears Yui let out a soft squeal of surprise, which is followed by a loud curse from Ayato. It feels like her heart stops when two, thin arms wrap around her body. She feels weightless for a moment before they come to a sudden stop when they hit the ground. She ended up on top of Yui, who was on top of Ayato. Yui had been the one to grab a hold of her, which had kept her steady as they fell. She doesn’t get a second to recuperate though. A hand grabs a fist full of her shirt and jerks hard. She rolls with it, but she feels her face pale when she hears a terrible ripping sound.

She quickly pulls away from Ayato’s grip and reaches around to feel the damage done to her shirt. To her relief, it was a small tear along the hem on the bottom of her shirt. She looks up the second someone appears before her, and her heart stops when she sees that it’s Ayato. She jerks back when he reaches down to grab her. He pauses for only a moment, but an amused look flicker over his face before it settles back into a look of anger. Thankfully, he doesn’t ever actually manage to get his hands on her. Yui appears between them with a worried look on her face. She seemed to be looking Mai over for wounds, but she doesn’t actually approach her. Laito says with feigned hurt in his voice. “I would never hurt her, Little Bitch. She looked tired, so I brought her to my room. I figured that the two of you would be busy, so she would rest better here.”

A mixture of horror and disgust fills Mai’s chest, but she doesn’t get a chance to correct him.

“Laito!” Yui gasps. She turns to look over her shoulder, preventing Mai from seeing the look on her face. Though, she could see the widening smirk on Laito’s face at Yui’s apparent horror.

“I didn’t say that you were two were having sex, but it is nice to know that I guessed right,” Laito teases. Ayato lets out a grunt, but he doesn’t seem like he was going to deny it. In fact, he looked almost smug about the whole affair. Mai’s skin begins to crawl. She hadn’t honestly thought about what could have happened in the bed before she had slept there. Her eyes drift closed, and she finds herself hoping that if Ayato and Yui did sleep together it wasn’t in Yui’s bed. Laito clicks his tongue dragging attention back to himself. He sounded thoughtful this time. “Though I suppose it’s more comfortable to do it in a bed than your iron maiden, hmm?”

Disbelief fills Mai’s chest, and her eyes open to look up at Ayato, who was giving his brother a blank look. Mai quickly scrambles to her feet, and she spares a glance toward her friend. Yui’s face was a deep red color, and a sense of pity wells up in Mai’s chest. She reaches out to try to comfort the poor girl, but Yui slaps her hand away and quickly retreats down the hallway. Mai sends a cold look at the two boys, spins on her heel and rushes after her friend.

She barely makes it to Yui’s room before the door is slammed in her face. She stares at it for a few minutes, wondering if she should knock or just let herself in. She jumps when a hand appears over her shoulder to loudly knock on the door. She twists her body to find Reiji standing behind her. His eyes are fixated on the door just behind her. Without much regard to Mai’s presence, he says, “The car is out front. You have ten minutes.”

Mai watches him move down the hallway and knock on another door before repeating the same thing. Mai quickly lets herself into Yui’s room. She was already dressed in her school uniform, but she was laying face down on her bed. Cautiously, Mai makes her way over to her friend and almost sits on the bed, but she freezes midway down. She flinches at the thought of what might have occurred, so she settles for standing beside the bed. She reaches out to awkwardly pat Yui on the shoulder a few times. It startles her to feel her friend shaking under her hand. She squats down a little and says in the best reassuring voice she can. “Hey, it’s ok. That guy is a pervert and a freak. So, I don’t think you need to worry about what he says.”

Yui mutters something into her pillow that Mai can’t quite make out. She rocks back to a sitting position and lets herself fall back to look up at the ceiling. Her arms fall out to her sides, and she says in an unsure tone, “I think you are free to choose what you want to do with your body.”

Yui doesn’t answer her. Silence seems to easily slip by before Yui suddenly bolts upright with a gasp. She says softly. “Oh no! I’m going to be late!”

Before Mai can protest, Yui is out the door with her book bag. Mai ends up just sitting in the middle of the room awkwardly for a few seconds before she takes a deep breath. This was her chance! She had been hoping that Yui would have stayed and helped her, but Mai had a feeling that Yui would hinder more than help. Guilt fills Mai’s chest when she remembers the looks she had caught Yui giving Ayato, and the soft look he had given her. A quick shake of her head helps to quell it. She scrambles to her feet and hurries out the door. The house felt eerie when she knew that none of the brothers were actually home anymore. She makes her way to the living and picks a random direction to start in.  
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It felt like she was wasting her time. The Sakamaki house was huge, but she hadn’t found a single library. She was starting to wonder if she should have gone to the room with all the books that Reiji had made her clean before. She quickly pushes the thought away. Her luck would be that he was such a neat freak that he’d instantly notice that his books had been touched. 

She had come across a couple of rooms filled with games like darts, a pool table, a room with a tv and movies. Others seemed to be a setting room, even a couple of empty rooms that didn’t have a shred of furniture in them, but she hadn’t found anything that would help her with her search to figure out how the brides were chosen, or how to help Yui. She takes a deep breath when she stops before a door and stares at it silently. She was sure that this was the last door on the ground floor. With a sigh, she reaches out and opens it. Her eyes widen upon meeting something that she should have suspected but didn’t. 

The water in the pool was still, making it almost appear empty, but she could hear a faint lapping as the pumps kept it clean. A thrill runs through her body, and she glances over her shoulder just to be sure that she was truly alone. Once she is sure that she is, a guilty sense of excitement that Yui had gone to school rushes through her body. She was embarrassed by what she was about to do. Turning her excited gaze back to the pool, Mai lets out an excited squeal and hurries to the edge of the pool.

“Damn rich kids! They really have it all!” Once she gets close to the pool’s edge, she slows to a walk. She kneels down and reaches her hand into the water. It was pleasantly cool, but it wasn’t cold. She lets a shiver run through her body while she watches the ripples even out. “Oh my god. I’m so jealous of Yui right now! Why didn’t she tell me they had a pool? This is almost worth dealing with Laito, or even with Kanato!”

She laughs, which echoes back to her eerily. It doesn’t bother her though. She was too absorbed in the water before her. She twists so that she is sitting beside the edge and dangles her feet and calves in. She releases a soft groan. “I wish I’d brought my swimming suit.”

“Who needs one?” Her heart stops, but she doesn’t get a chance to turn around to confront him. A hand appears in the middle of her back, and, before she can brace herself, she is pushed into the pool. She barely has enough time to suck in oxygen before her entire body is engulfed in the water. Despite knowing how to swim, a sense of panic spreads throughout her body, and she quickly kicks to the surface. Once her head is free, she gasps for breath and twists to glare up at Latio while she treads water. The pool was deeper than she originally thought.

“What is wrong with you?! What if I had sucked in water and drowned?!” Mai snaps at him. She turns to swim toward the opposite side of the pool. There was no way that she was going to climb out of the pool right in front of him. Her luck is he would shove her head under the water and hold her there until she really did drown. She cringes when she hears Laito’s laugh echoing over the sound of her own voice. “Why aren’t you in school?!”

“I’m suspended, remember?” Laito coos at her. She glances over her shoulder the best she can to see that he was practically stalking around the pool to the side that she was aiming for. She instantly stops trying to reach the other side and settles for treading water while glaring at him. She takes a moment to spare a glance around the pool in hopes of seeing a ladder, but her heart sinks upon not actually seeing one. How could she be so stupid as to forget that he was suspended? It was the reason she was there. It felt like she had successfully walked right into his trap.

He squats down on the edge of the pool and rests an elbow on his knee. His chin is nestled in the palm of his hand, and he gives her a cruel smile. It’s silent for a few minutes before Mai snaps. “What do you want?”

She wouldn’t admit it, but she was already getting tired. It felt like it had been forever since she had gone swimming. Laito’s eyes glow for a moment, as if he knew that she was getting tired. He straightens up and starts to pull off the top layer of his clothes. Mai’s heart skips a beat, and she’s sure that her face is flushing. She tries to backpedal in the pool, but she exerts more energy doing that. She finally settles for snapping, “What do you think you are doing?”

He gives her an almost innocent look before a smile spreads over his face. “Oh, I’m not like you, Sweetheart. I’m not going to swim in my clothes!”

She barely manages to keep from informing him that she wasn’t willingly swimming. She settles for quickly turning and retreating the way she had came from. Just as she reaches the edge, hope fills her chest. It’s crushed the second that she almost lifts herself out only to have two arms wrap around her waist. She doesn’t manage to get any air this time when she is dragged underwater. She immediately begins to thrash feeling like she was drowning already due to the fact she didn’t have any air in her lungs. She could feels Laito pressing lightly against her back. His face presses into the muscle that joins her neck and shoulder, but she doesn’t give it much thought. She was too preoccupied with wanting to breathe again. She had closed her eyes when she went under, but she opened them now. Her hands push on his arms, and she casts a panicked gaze toward the surface. Nothing mattered to her more than the fact that she was seeing black spots at this point. Her body starts to slow, but she still tries to bring her heel back into his shin, but he just tangles his legs with hers.

She couldn’t help but feel like he was trying to drown her. Just as she feels like she’s about to give up and suck in water, he detangles his legs from her and pulls her to the surface. Once her head is clear of water, she greedily sucks in air. She blinks rapidly and reaches for the edge of the pool. Thankfully, he lets her latch onto it like it was a lifeline. She coughs a few times, but she mostly pants heavily while half pulling, half dragging part of herself out of the water. She found she didn’t have the strength to get her lower half all the way out, but she didn’t care. The black spots were easing away, and the ache in her lungs had lessened. 

Her body flops onto the hard concrete beneath her, and she continues to gasp for breath. She didn’t even have the strength to tense when she hears Laito laughing behind her. She manages to glance over her shoulder to give him a tired glare though. She tries to pull herself up again, but her arms shake from the effort. They begin to shake so much that she’s sure her face is about to meet the concrete, but two hands appear under her butt. Laito gives her a push, effectively shoving her out of the water. She flinches when one of her elbows scrapes the rough concrete, and she’s sure that some of her skin had been ripped off, but she found that she was still too numb to care. She simply rolls onto her side, silently grateful that she was no longer panting. She briefly wonders what she had done to deserve such treatment from Laito, but she doesn’t have long to wonder. The sound of Laito lightly splashing around as he swam nearby draws her from her thoughts. Everything seems to stop the second that she hears him playfully say, “I thought you knew how to swim! I wouldn’t have pushed you in if I thought you’d drown! You know it’s not good to lie, Sweetheart. It’ll get you killed some day!”

Anger ignites in her stomach, which is only made worse by the fact that she was still feeling small tendrils of fear in her stomach. She abruptly sits up and fixates a heated glare on him. “How dare you! You tried to drown me! I can swim just fine! If you hadn’t grabbed me like you did, then I wouldn’t have been dragged under to die!”

He gives her an almost shocked look, which just served to anger her even more. She could feel her body shaking with anger at this point. He gives her an almost pout and says softly “I saved your life.”

She couldn’t believe the fact that he had said that! She scrambles to her feet, careful not to slip back into the pool and snaps. “You’re the reason I was in danger in the first place! Stay the hell away from me, you freak!”

She spins on her heel and storms toward door. She doesn’t make it more than a few steps before she feels an arm wrap around her neck from behind. She doesn’t get a chance to react before Laito gives her a violent tug backward into his body. Her bare shoulders press against the cold skin of his bare chest. She reaches up to grab his arm, but the water makes it hard to keep a decent grip on him. He didn’t full cut her oxygen off, but he was making it difficult to breath. Panic at the fact that she couldn’t breath starts to cloud her thoughts. She didn’t want to die. His lips appear close to her ear, and he mutters dangerously. “That is not the way you thank someone, Mai.”

Her entire body goes rigid. She wasn’t sure of the last time that he had used her name, or if he had at all. Everything around her suddenly felt cold, and she could feel pure terror in the pit of her stomach. He didn’t sound mad, but she had a feeling that he was frustrated, though she couldn’t figure out why. He tightens his arm for a moment, completely robbing her of the ability to breathe, but he loosens it before it’s truly a problem. He hums softly in her ear, and she’s sure that his tongue had gently ran along the rim of it. She could feel her body starting to shake in fear. His voice still has a dangerous undertone, but it had also gained a lustful hint. “We didn’t get to finish what we started earlier, did we?”

Her heart starts to race painfully in her chest. She wanted to fight like she always did, but she found herself rooted to the spot. This was just another cold reminder that Laito was much more powerful than her, and he could do whatever he wanted. Sure she fought against him, but she wouldn’t ever actually overpower him. She takes a deep breath to try to calm her completely frazzled nerves. It would be best to just give him what he wanted. She silently shakes her head to answer her question. Panic that she made the wrong choice fills her stomach when she feels a puff of air against her ear. He starts to laugh. “Shall we continue?”

Her heart feels like it completely stopped. Tears well up in her eyes when she feels his free hand reach around her and come to lightly rest on her upper thigh. She fights the panic rising in her body. The last thing she needed was to react badly and anger him further. If she struggled, she worried that it would make him take that final step. She tries to make herself relax, but she finds that impossible, so she settles for simply counting to ten silently in her head. His hand gives her thigh a squeeze right around five. She flinches, and he chuckles once again. She says softly, “What if I say no?”

His laughter echoes off the walls, wearing at the last of her nerves. She closes her eyes and focuses on her breathing. His voice seems to echo loudly in her ears. “Do you think you have a choice? You certainly are conceited for a human.”

A frantic feeling takes over her body when she feels his hand moving up her thigh, dragging the wet material across her skin. It makes her feel sick to her stomach, and she does the first thing she can think of. “Let’s play a game!”

His body freezes for a moment before he leans down to press light kisses to her shoulder. A small shiver runs through her body, and she finds herself shaking again. What would she do if he refused? To her utter relief, he pulls away and says. “Fine, we’ll play billiards.”

Her heart sinks. If she remembered right, Subaru had said that Laito was really good. Just as she considers asking for a different game, he whispers softly in a sing song voice. “If we don’t play, then I can think of something else we can do.”

With a defeated sigh, she nods her head. He lets out a sound of excitement. Both arms wrap around her body, pulling her back into him. Panic makes it hard to breath for a second, and she instinctively closes her eyes. Just like she suspected, there was a rush of movement. She slowly opens one eye to find herself standing in his room. She twists to find him standing inches behind her. She quickly backs away from him, and it comes as a relief that he doesn’t follow her. She frowns at the almost cruel smile on his face. Before she has a chance to ask him what he wanted, he reaches down and unbuttons his pants. Her jaw drops, unable to immediately pull her eyes away from him. She doesn’t manage to turn away before he pulls his pants and underwear down. Her face burns brightly, and she finally adverts her eyes. Her hands come up to cover her face, and she lets out a shuddering breath. It was like the image was burned into her mind. She tried not to think about it, but it just kept surfacing. She cringes when she hears him laughing in apparent delight. Disgust fills her body at the fact that he could even find the situation hilarious.

His playful tone just angers her even more. “I don’t mind you looking. I can show you all the tricks you need to know, if you’d like.”

Mai closes her eyes tightly and fights the images that threaten to surface in her mind’s eye. “Aren’t we supposed to be playing billiards? Why aren’t we in the game room?” 

She flinches away when a hand brushes her arm. Her hand drops away, and her eyes snap open without a second thought. Thankfully, he’s fully dressed this time, but she still felt herself flush simply by looking at him. He was only wearing a button down white shirt that looked like it belonged to his uniform. He also was wearing dark pants, though he was shoeless. She glances away once she realizes that she was inspecting him closer than she wanted to. She flushes an even deeper red when she hears him chuckling. Unfortunately, it seemed like he had noticed as well. She clears her throat to ask once again why they weren’t in one of the gaming halls, but he cuts her off. “We can’t play while wet, can we? We’ll ruin the pool table, then Reiji will ban you from the house. We don’t want that, do we?”

She stubbornly keeps her mouth closed. That was exactly what she wanted. She never wanted to return. She flinches when she realizes that’s what she had said the last few times she had been to their house. With a slow, shuddering breath, she asks. “Ok, fine. Why did you take me to your room? You should have taken me to mine.”

A wide smile spreads over his face, which causes her heart to sink and warning bells to violently ring. He smoothes the amused smile away and leans forward with a curious look. “Are you planning to play naked?”

She finds herself speechless, though she wasn’t sure why. She figured that she should be used to his antics at that point. Once she manages to regain her wits, she quickly shakes her head and says. “Like hell I would play naked!”

He draws back for a moment with a feigned frown, as if he was actually thinking the problem through. He snaps his fingers and gestures to his bed that was directly behind her. She doesn’t bother turning to look at it though. It felt like a trap, and she wasn’t about to fall even further into it. He watches her patiently. He tilt his head and reaches up as if he were going to grab the rim of his hat, only he wasn’t wearing it at the moment. For a moment, it strikes her that he looked a little different without his fedora. Her thoughts are dragged back to the danger before her when he starts toward her with a playful, yet predatory, look in his eyes. She feels every muscle tense in her body when her flight instinct kick in. She barely manages to suppress the feeling, but she can’t stop the shaking. He steps around her, and she twists in order to keep him in her line of sight. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see some clothes sitting on the edge of his bed. She swallows hard when her mind puts the pieces together. She slowly starts to shake her head. “No.”

He makes a tsking noise, sits on the edge of his bed, and gives her a playful grin. He gestures to the clothes beside him. “You can borrow some of mine!”

He sounded almost pleased with himself. Mai quickly shakes her head again. “No, I’ll borrow Yui’s.”

A hurt look spreads over his face, and, for once, she’s unsure if he was actually hurt or not. He leans back and prompts himself up on one elbow. Even his voice has a hurt edge to it. “It’s rude to riffle through other people’s clothing when they are clearly not home. Unless you swing that way! I’ll help you raid her panty drawer!”

Trying to ignore her disbelief at how excited he sounded, Mai shakes her head. “No, I don’t swing that way! I just… I can’t wear your clothes. Why don’t I just use mine?”

He lets out a low sigh and looks down at the green bedding below him. She couldn’t decide what he was playing at this time. She watches him pick at the comforter like it was more amusing than their conversation. With a deep, dark voice that she had never heard before, he says, “Shall we just get this over with quickly?”

He doesn’t give her a chance to respond, nor does he look up. “I’ll tell you that we’ll run into the same problem as Little Bitch, and you’ll tell me that I should just take you. I’ll tell you that I can’t; you’ll ask why. Blah blah blah.”

When he finally looks up at her, his eyes are glowing a bright green, which makes her take a step back. He gives her a cruel smile and playfully says, “I’ll save us some time, Sweetheart. I’m not taking you home. You are here to stay the night, right? You promised that we could be friends, and friends hang out. You’ll scream if I take you home, or you’ll try to run. I’m not interested in expending energy on something so stupid. So, why don’t you just change into my clothes, and we can have some fun in the gaming hall?”

Speechless, Mai finds herself just staring at him. Finally, a sense of defeat washes over her, and she just nods and starts toward the bed. Cautiously, she grabs the clothes and backs away. It felt like he was watching her every move like some sort of predator. Once she is close to the door, a playful smile spreads over his face. Her heart starts to race at the sight, since it hadn’t boded well for her lately. Her body goes rigid just out of arm’s reach of the door. He tilts his head and asks playfully. “Are you going somewhere?”

She frowns at him and forcibly nods. She says as calmly as she can. “I’m going to go change.”

She flinches when she hears the tremor in her own voice. As a response, his smile widens, and he releases a loud sigh. “Why not do it here?”

She clenches the clothes in her hand tightly, but she manages to not pull them close to her body. She didn’t want to get them wet and have to listen to him complain about it. She clears her throat and says confidently. “I’m not your toy, regardless to what you think. I’m not about to change in front of you.”

He chuckles darkly this time and says in an almost irritated tone. “I was nice enough to save you, and I even borrowed you clothes. I offered to let you experiment with my body, and this is how you thank me? How ungrateful can one human get.”

She feels a growl bubbling up her throat, but she’s cut off once again when his cold, vivid green eyes meet hers. He says in an equally cold voice. “You have two minutes to change.”

He’s gone the second that she blinks. For a moment, she stares at the spot in complete shock. What was happening to her life? She closes her eyes and shakes her head, before she mentally berates herself for wasting time. She silently hopes that he’s really not around and strips as quickly as she can. Unsure of what to do about her wet clothes, she simply drops them on the floor. To her humiliation, she finds some of her underwear and a bra among his clothes. She makes a mental note to ask him about it later. 

She was just pulling the pants the rest of the way up when he reappears directly in front of her. She flinches back, but his pants were a lot longer than she liked. He casually steps onto the end of them, which causes her to fall back onto her butt. She lets out a hiss of pain and glares up at him. She felt incredibly stupid at that moment. His pants weren’t huge, but they still drowned her. Thankfully, his shirt was long and hid it to some degree.

He lets out a laugh and squats before her. She flinches back, but he catches her leg. With a quick jerk, he pulls her close to his body. She lifts her other foot to kick him, but she instantly freezes. He was expertly rolling up both the pant legs until they reach just under her knees in neat, flat folds. She finds herself watching him with a sense of wonder. He quickly wraps a belt around her and fixes the sleeves of the long sleeved shirt he had borrowed her. He does it all in what feels like a matter of seconds, causing her heart to skip a beat. Once he’s done, he give her a cheeky smile and asks, “Ready to play?”

Still feeling the sense of wonder, she nods without a sound. He chuckles at the look on her face and scoops her up. She barely has time to close her eyes before the rush of movement. When she opens her eyes, she finds herself standing before a pool table. He steps away from her, allowing her to finally relax. A glance at the table reveals that he had set up for what she assumed was eight ball. She jumps when something hard pokes her side and glances in that direction to find a pool cue within reach. She grabs it feeling every warning bell ringing loudly in her head. Laito was being….nice to her for lack of a better word. He gives her an almost pleasant smile and gestures for her to break.

She finds herself nervously licking her bottom lip and sets herself up to strike the cue ball. Her thoughts wildly race around her head. Something was different, but she couldn’t figure out what was going on in his head. He had been so cruel to her not even an hour ago, and now he was playing nice. Thankfully, pool is a good excuse to stare right at him without raising undue suspicion. A few more turns slip by, with him clearly and easily winning. Finally, Mai can’t stand the silence anymore and breaks it with a question. “So, I was wondering if I could ask you something?”

He doesn’t answer, but she takes it as a go ahead to ask. It wasn’t like he had told her no either. She takes a deep breath to try to get the nerve to start asking the questions. After a couple of deep breaths, she finally asks one that she found to be the most important. “Is there something special about Yui?”

Laito’s eyes flick up for a moment, and a smirk spreads over his face before he turns back to the game. After a few more shots, he wins the game. Mai releases a soft sigh, and he taps the table with his pool cue. “Set it back up.”

Disappointment fills her chest. Was he seriously going to dodge her questions? What was the point of her wasting time playing this stupid game with him? She frowns after a second and sets her cue down along the edge of the table and moves to gather the balls. Laito watches her with an eerily amused glint in his eyes. She sets the balls up the best she could remember, but he stops her halfway through to tell her that she was doing it wrong. After a few failed attempts, Mai snaps at him. “Why don’t you set them up then?”

To her dismay, he appears behind her, though his body doesn’t touch hers. His hand gently grabs her wrist, causing a chill runs down her spine. Something was definitely wrong. He was planning something, but she couldn’t figure out what it was that he was planning. She watches him guide her hands around to help her set up the balls. The second they are done, he pulls away and moves around the table to shoot without making any more physical contact with her. Mai finds herself watching him cautiously. She was so distracted that she didn’t realizes that she was gripping the bumper on the pool table just behind the balls. Pain races up her arm when one of the balls strikes her two of her fingers. She jerks them back and lets out a surprised cry of pain. Without a second thought, she lifts the hurt fingers to her mouth. She looks up from the table and instantly freezes. Laito was watching her with a clearly predatory gaze. He was still leaned down like he was shooting, but the cue ball was nowhere near him. She takes a step back just as he flicks his gaze back down to the table. His tone is light and playful when he says, “Answers will come at a price.”

Mai almost agrees, but she manages to bite her tongue. A shiver runs through her body at the thought of the numerous things he could ask for if she didn’t set guidelines. She pulls her fingers from her mouth and says “I won’t do anything dirty with or for you.”

He lets out an amused scoff and says. “Fine. I just want to be able to drink your blood without you fighting.”

She frowns and mulls over his words. The last time he had drank her blood, it hadn’t hurt, but she didn’t want to sell her blood so easily. Still, it was better than selling her body. She takes a deep breath and says. “Fine, answer my questions, and you can drink my blood.”

The chilling look of triumph spreads over his face, and he straightens up. Mai’s heart starts to sink. It felt like she was making a deal with the devil. She tries to remind herself that it was only blood, and her body would make more. This way would be faster and easier than blindly searching such a large house. Her heart stops completely when he says. “For each question you ask, I get one time of drinking your blood without you fighting, and I can drink to my heart’s content.”

She stiffens and slowly shakes her head. Her tone is strained when she says, “Not to your heart’s content. You’ll kill me or something. Only enough to fill your stomach.”

He gives her a playful, yet knowing, smile. He shrugs his shoulders and gives her an affirmative noise. There was something that she was missing; she just knew it. Her mind mulls over the conversation, but it didn’t seem to matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure it out. He was leaning on the table again and was watching her with an almost smug look on his face. Finally, it clicks in her mind. She leans forward with a sense of triumph and says softly, “I have a few more conditions. You can’t lie to me, and you can’t try to take my blood from private areas. If you promise that, then I agree to your terms.”

A look of delight spreads over his face, and he readily agrees. She wanted nothing more than to keep feeling that sense of triumph, but she felt a sense of dread instead. It looked like she had just lost the gamble, but she couldn’t figure out why. She was positive that she had covered everything.

He turns his attention back to the pool table and takes another shot. She jumps at the sound of the balls hitting each other. It effectively drew her from her worries. His voice easily cuts through the noise though. “Little Bitch is indeed special.”

Mai’s heart sinks. He had already accumulated one freebie, and she hadn’t really gotten that much information that wasn’t already obvious. She takes a deep breath and takes her turn to shoot while she considers her next question. She had to make it meaningful, or she would just wrack up a huge feeding bill. The thought made her feel sick, but she forces herself to focus on her questions. She would worry about what came after when the problem arose.

Now, what would be the best question to ask to get the most information?


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken so long! :( I got caught up reading a couple new books and playing some video games. >.> Thank you all for the kudos! :D I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Another missed shot causes Mai to flinch. She had lost count of how many shots she had botched. With a sigh, she straightens up and glances in Latio’s direction. She still hadn’t figured out how she wanted to ask the questions that felt like they were plaguing her for months. She knew that she had to be careful about how she asked him. If she asked any questions carelessly, it would end badly for her. The last thing she needed was to give him a chance to give her an ‘answer’ without actually giving her any information she could put to use. 

Her eyes follow his every movement, as if it would help her solve the dilemma laid out before her. It frustrated her that he didn’t even seem consider his next shot. In fact, he made it look like he was shooting on a whim and making every shot. Despite the frustration, she couldn’t quell the sense of relief that flows through her. If they were playing his warped game based on her performance at billiards, she would have already lost everything. Her gaze drops to watch the balls while he makes yet another seemingly complicated shot. She pulls her gaze back up from the balls to find amused green eyes staring at her from across the table. For a brief moment, she’s positive that they start to glow a brighter green. It was like he was reminding her of their deal. A chill races down her spine, and it prompts her to take a step back. She grips the pool cue even tighter, like it would save her from her promise. He releases a chuckle and returns his gaze to the game. Finally, she decides how to ask her first question. She takes a moment to take a couple of deep breaths to help calm her nerves. Once she is ready, she softly says. “So, I know that Yui is special, since she was sent here. That much is obvious. She was also chosen as a bride, whatever that means. It seems that particular word has some sort of special meaning to you guys.”

She flinches at the sound of the balls striking against each other. It seems to echo eerily throughout the room. She quickly licks her bottom lip and asks. “What does it mean to be a bride in Yui’s position?”

He lets out an almost groaning sound as he straightens up. For a moment, she wonders if he is considering not answering. Her heart starts to race, but it stops when he looks up at her. He gives her an almost amused smirk. That simple action makes her immediately start to second guess her choice of words. He slowly starts to stalk around the table. His glowing, green eyes don’t move from her. She’s frozen for a moment, before panic sets in. Her heart felt like it was skipping more than it was actually beating, and she quickly makes her way to the opposite side of the table. There was no way that she would make it easy for him. His eyes narrow playfully, as if he were mocking her. Her humiliation mounts even more when she sees him leaning down to shoot again. A shudder runs down her spine. He hadn’t taken his eyes off her during the whole shot. In fact, he hadn’t even checked to see if he had even made it. Once again, she draws in a slow shuddering breath to try to steady her nerves. She watches him straighten up and finally turn his gaze back to the table. His silence unnerved her even more than his laughter. He had been so patient while she had been trying to figure out what to say.

He straightens after finishing the game yet again. His gaze lifts to lock with hers. She still had so many of her balls on the table that it was embarrassing. Without warning, he leans forward against the table and gives her a playful grin. “It’s simple. She’s suppose to pick one of us brothers to be with. Isn’t that what all brides do?”

She flinches at the statement and settles a glare on him. It felt like he was intentionally skirting the real information. A sick feeling settles in the pit of her stomach when he holds up two fingers. She barely represses the urge to shiver at the sight. She quickly shakes her head and says. “The first question doesn’t count. We didn’t have the deal then.”

He makes a grunting noise in the back of throat that sounded vaguely like he was disagreeing with her. She gives him the sternest look she can muster. After a few minutes tick by, she realizes that he didn’t intend to play again, nor did it look like he was planning to put the equipment away. Mai shoves those thoughts from her mind and levels the best determined look she can at him. “What is going to happen to Yui? You took me to that room with all the dolls for a reason, so I don’t think it’s anything positive.”

He lets out a dark sounding chuckle. His gaze remains locked on her. The more she defiantly holds his gaze, the more she notices that his eyes have an almost hungry look. Her entire body tenses the moment he seems to disappear in front of her eyes. She attempts to spin around, since she was positive that he would reappear behind her. Unfortunately, she’s not able to turn even a little bit. His body presses against hers from behind, causing a shiver to race down her spine. His hips press hers against the table, making it dig uncomfortably into her lower body. She closes her eyes in an attempt to try to calm her racing heart. Her attempts fail when his cold hands cover hers. It’s unnerving to find his touch suddenly feeling gentle. Slowly, he guides her hands to aim at one of the balls, but she finds herself unable to focus on anything other than where his body is touching hers. He uses her hands to slowly knock all the other balls into the pockets on the far side of the table.

Suddenly, she finds herself unable to breath, let alone try to pull away. She couldn’t even form her racing thoughts into anything remotely useful. She had been close to him before, but she hadn’t really paid much attention to feel of his body. She had been focused on other things, like the fact that she wanted to get as far away as possible from him. This time felt different. She felt strangely aware of where his body was touching hers, yet she couldn’t think of anything that had changed other than the fact that he was suddenly being gentle with her. She sternly reminds herself that this was likely some sort of ploy.

Unfortunately, that didn’t do anything to stop her from actually taking in the feel of his body against hers. She knew that his body was cooler than hers, but, for the first time, it struck her as bizarre to feel no heat pressing into her back. She can’t stop her body from starting to shake. It felt like his ice cold body was leeching the warmth from hers. He was thinner than his clothes let on, and she didn’t think that he really had that much muscle, but it didn’t stop her from feeling like she stood no chance in a contest of pure strength.

“It depends on the Little Bitch,” he practically breathes into her ear. She unconsciously jumps a little at how deep his voice had become. A light chuckle in her ear sends shivers racing up and down her spine. She was in danger, and she was trapped. There was no way out. He had her pinned, likely right where he wanted her. She opens her mouth, but pure fear closes off her throat. She makes a croaking noise and abruptly slams her jaw shut. His breath causes her hair to shift a little as he chuckles. It felt like she was suffocating. Her eyes flick around around desperately; she needed something to defend herself with.

To her absolute horror, she realizes that all the pool balls were in pockets out of her reach. The one directly in front of her was completely empty. It feels like a cold sweat breaks out over her skin, which just seems to leech the last bit of warmth from her. She suddenly feels insanely cold, and her mouth and throat go dry. She couldn’t use the pool cue either. His hands had started to grip hers tighter, like he knew what she was thinking. With a jolt, she realizes that she had been so focused on how she planned to ask her questions that she hadn’t paid attention to what he was doing. She mentally curses herself for being so naive that she walked right into his trap. His chuckle grows even darker, and she feels him blow a puff of air against the skin of her neck. She stares at the green top of the pool table and forces herself to focus on it in an attempt to try to calm down. If she let panic overtake her, like it threatened to do, he would win. She would make a very costly mistake, and he’d get what he wanted. She forces herself to swallow, which is painful due to the dry nature of her mouth and throat. She finally closes her eyes and pictures her parents in her mind. That helps to calm her racing thoughts. Gaining strength from that, she softly says. “You didn’t actually answer my question.”

He lets out an almost pleased moan against her neck, which is followed by the feeling of him pressing his cold face against her skin. His now husky voice asks softly, “Why do try so hard for her?”

“You didn’t answer the question,” Mai stubbornly reminds him. She can’t repress the flinch when he lightly scrapes his fangs slowly along her skin. She tries to keep thinking about her parents, but it was getting harder and harder to focus on anything, but the mounting terror in the pit of her stomach.

“Do you think that Little Bitch would do the same for you?”

That question throws her thought process for a moment. Her eyes snap open, and her thoughts race. The question felt so sudden, but she manages to not over think the answer. It wouldn’t matter what he said; she didn’t feel any doubt about her friendship with Yui. Stubbornly, Mai says in a soft voice. “She already has helped me on several occasions. We are friends, and that’s what friends do.”

“Would you do something like that for me if the occasion called for it?” She feels him press his hips harder against her. His hands slowly leave hers to rest lightly on her hips, much lower than she feels comfortable with. Mai can practically feel the blood draining from her face. This was getting too far off topic. In fact, it was entering very dangerous territory. A sense of caution spreads throughout her body. She was positive that there was something off about him since the beginning. He had suddenly became so patient and gentle, but she couldn’t figure out exactly what he was trying to do. His voice suddenly softens, making him almost sound like a child. “Are you denying that we are friends?”

She bites her lip and slowly shakes her head. She figured that was the answer he was looking for. It’s silent for a few minutes, and her heart feels like it’s slowing to a stop. Had she made a mistake? The longer the silence drags on, the more her heart hammers wildly against her chest. She didn’t dare look over her shoulder to gauge his reaction, though she wasn’t sure why.

“Do you know what the worst type of people are?” His voice is devoid of any sort of emotion. It sounded just as cold as his skin. She swallows hard and gives a small shake of her head. She didn’t trust her voice at that moment. She found herself missing the feigned warmth in his voice. His lips brush the skin just behind the back of her ear. She’s unable to jerk her head away, though. “If Little Bitch is strong, she will survive the awakening.”

His voice was still cold. Mai’s hands grip the pool cue until her knuckles turn white. He had changed the subject yet again. She was already feeling disoriented by his behavior. This was just making it harder to keep up with him. She narrows her eyes at the table top, as if everything was it’s fault. She had a feeling that he was trying to force her make a mistake, but it seemed like it wasn’t going the way he wanted it to. His fingers were beginning to dig painfully into her hips. She takes a few seconds to consider her next question. Finally, she softly asks. “What is the awakening? What is going to happen to her?”

He lets out a sigh that sounded like he was starting to get irritated. She doesn’t have a chance to prepare for the sickening jerk of motion as he spins and lifts her onto the table in what felt like one fluid motion. Out of pure instinct, she thrusts the cue straight out in an effort to prevent him from getting closer than she wanted him to, but he catches it in the space between her hands. Thankfully, it does what it is supposed to and keeps him at a distance. Now that she is facing him, the mounting terror in the pit of her stomach erupts. His face matched the cold tone of his voice. He seems to be waiting patiently for her to ask even more questions. Terror causes her to erupt into a spout of questions without a second thought. “Is there a way that I can help her? Is there a way to stop what is happening? Does Ayato hurt her? Why was she chosen? Who were those women? How long does Yui have?”

Amusement returns to his face, and Mai’s heart soars for a moment. It came as more of a relief than she wanted to admit to not see the cold look. The excitement melts away after only seconds, and her heart suddenly feels incredibly heavy. In fact, she was sure that it just sunk to the bottom of her stomach. She had spewed so many questions in such a short amount of time that she had lost track of how many had been asked. The smile on his face lets her know that he had gotten exactly what he wanted. She had stupidly walked right into his trap. He pulls away from her completely, even releasing the cue, and begins to pick up the balls. “Be sure to get off the table, or Reiji will get mad. Trust me, he has little birds all over the house. He knows everything.”

She finds herself unable to move. She says so softly that she’s not sure that he can even hear her. “It doesn’t count. Not if you don’t answer.”

He makes a playful humming noise, sending a chill down her body. She slowly eases herself off the table. The second that her feet touch the floor, he starts talking. “Her scent is changing. I suspect that she will have anywhere from four months to a year. It just depends on how much she allows Ayato to drink her blood. Those women that I showed you before were women that had failed to finish the awakening. Failure means death, as you can see. Now, they are nothing more than pretty little dolls for Kanato. As for why Little Bitch was chosen, we don’t know why he chooses the ones that he sends here, but he seems to have a method of sorts. Ayato is rough with all of his toys, but I think you know the answer to whether he hurts her or not. You can help her, but you can’t stop what is happening to her. It was already decided the moment she chose Ayato.”

“What is the Awakening?” Mai asks. She had lost track of how many questions she had asked. One more couldn’t hurt. His amused green eyes meet hers after a few seconds. She feels a shiver run down her spine, though she’s not sure why this time. He had put away everything, but the stick she was holding in a white knuckled grip. He takes a few steps toward her, and, for a brief moment, she’s afraid that he plans to take away the only thing that she can use to defend herself with. A cruel smile flickers over his face, letting her know that he was enjoying it. Stubbornly, Mai tries to wipe any trace of fear off of her face. To her displeasure, this only serves to amuse him even more.

“It’s exactly what it sounds like, Sweetheart. She’ll ‘wake’ up.” Her heart slowly picks up speed when he stops just short of touching her with his body. She stubbornly stares into his eyes, though she figured he could still see how terrified she was. He releases a chuckle and says in a playful voice. “This little game has me feeling hungry. You promised. I held up my end of our little deal. It’s your turn to do the same.”

“You still have a part to keep up,” Mai forces as much strength as she can into that one statement. There was no way that she was going to let him forget about the entire deal. A sick feeling mixes unpleasantly with a nervous one in the pit of her stomach. She keeps her gaze locked with his in order to not dwell on the roiling mass of nerves that was threatening to take over her body. He lets out a sigh and rolls his eyes, but it looked like he was doing it more for show than actual irritation. The moment his gaze returns to her face, she regrets every single question that she asked. She should have gone to someone else. She had not won a single thing against him.

“I know, Sweetheart.” He leans his face closer to hers. His voice is so low that she can barely hear it. “But I never promised that I would be gentle or make it painless. I just promised not to bite you in sexual areas.”

She doesn’t get a chance to say anything else to him, nor does he give her a chance to fully regret her choice of words when making the deal. His lips collide hard with hers. She thrusts the cue against his chest in an effort to shove him away, but it doesn’t seem to even affect him. She uses it to push harder, earning a growl from him. Thankfully, he pulls back with a brief look of irritation. She lets out a soft gasp and says, “I didn’t say you could ki-”

She doesn’t get a chance to finish her sentence. His hand latches onto the cue and seems to easily rip it from her grip. Without looking to see where it was going, he tosses it away. She flinches when she hears it collide with something. It sounded almost like the cue may have broken, but she doesn’t get a chance to look. He had once again pressed his lips against hers. She jerks her head back to get away from the kiss, but his hand appears behind her head, effectively preventing her from pulling away. His fingers tangle into her hair, and a sharp, rough jerk brings tears to her eyes. Her lips open in a gasp that swallowed by his mouth. Her mind races with a million ways to try to get away, but it goes blank the second he takes this chance to sink his teeth into her bottom lip. It felt like he had bitten through it. Mind numbing pain races throughout her body. Once more, she jerks her head backward, but his hand prevents it. His tongue runs along her lip the second he pulls his teeth out of her flesh. Her heart stops when his tongue pushes its’ way into her mouth only seconds later, tainting her taste buds with the horrible metallic taste of her own blood. She wants to gag, but she’s not able to as he slowly runs his tongue over what felt like every inch of her mouth.

Unfortunately, it also spreads the taste of her blood, though she was sure that it was his way of torturing her. He lets out a deep moaning noise, which causes a tendril of disgust to coil through her pain. He was enjoying this. Just as she is about to bit his tongue in retaliation, he pulls it back, but he doesn’t release her hair, nor does he pull back from the kiss. Mai is forced to try to breath through her nose, but it was getting harder and harder to do so. Her eyes had remained open during the entire encounter, but he had closed his.

Just as dark spots are invading her vision, he pulls away from her completely. It was so sudden that she feels herself sinking to the floor. Her breaths come in deep, ragged gasps, but that’s not what bothered her. He had managed to bite the inside of her lip, so her mouth was filling with blood every time she closed her mouth. She flinches as some the nasty tasting liquid trickles down her throat, making her feel even sicker. She reaches up and grabs the neck of her bowrrowed shirt and pulls it up to press it against the wound. Warm blood slowly slides down her chin. She hears him make a cooing sound as he kneels down in front of her. She glares at him the best she can, though she’s sure that having a shirt pressed against the lower part of her face dampens the strength of it. He tilts his head and asks in an almost gentle tone. “Do you know how many questions you asked?”

Mai just glares at him, though her mind was frantically trying to remember the questions and count them. He rocks up to his feet with a pleased expression. Chills raise goose bumps on her skin. He slowly licks his lips, making it feel like she was some kind of prey. A jolt through her body makes her realize that’s exactly what she was. She had been so thrown off by him being gentle and patient that she had focused on the wrong thing. It was his plan all along. A hollow feeling settles in the pit of her stomach at those thoughts. Defiantly, she pushes them from her mind and tries to focus on the throbbing of her lip. He seems to know that she wasn’t going to answer. He says in a soft voice. “You asked twelve. I’ve used one, so be ready for the other eleven. There isn’t a time limit on how long I can keep them in reserve, so don’t try to get out of it. Also, it won’t count if you fight me, though I’ll be kind and let it go this time.”

Dread fills her entire being, and she wants to argue, but she represses the words. The last thing she needed was him saying that she fought this time, so she’d have to tack on another feeding. He tilts his head with an almost thoughtful look. “Did you know that human blood is toxic to humans when ingested? You could die from drinking too much. Isn’t that just ironic? What keeps you alive and warm is also what can kill you.”

Mai had a feeling that he wasn’t just babbling, but she couldn’t figure out why he was saying what he was saying. Could he be silently threatening her? She didn’t think so, but, to be honest, she felt like she didn’t know anything about Laito. He tilts his head to the side, and an almost cruel smile lights up his face. He says in a cruelly playful voice. “I asked you a question earlier, didn’t I? What is the worst type of person in the world? Do you know the answer?”

The minutes tick by as Mai refuses to answer him, and he waits patiently. Finally, he lets out a chuckle, clearly not upset by her refusal to answer, and says, “Liars are the worst type of people, and, you, my dear, are nothing more than a foolish little liar. If you want to be able to fool me, you’ll have to try harder than you have been.”

____________________________________________________________________________

He had just left her sitting on the floor of the game room. He was there one second and completely gone the next. Her lip seemed to be throbbing in time with her heart beat. She had moved to sit as comfortably as she can against the wall. Her mind runs the information over and over, but it keeps ending up at the last thing Laito had said before he had disappeared.

She had made a mistake in choosing him, and now she was now tied by her promise to let him drink her blood. She feels a shiver race down her spine. Her lip had finally stopped bleeding, so she let her shirt fall back into place. Her mouth still tasted like she had sucked on some sort of metal, but she tried to not let it bother her. Letting out a steady breath, Mai manages to calm her nerves for the first time in what felt like hours. She closes her eyes and uses the moment to considers her options with a clear head. She knew a little bit about Yui’s situation, but she hadn’t had a chance to ask Laito about her own. Wariness swells in her stomach. Somehow, she didn’t want to ask Laito any more questions. He might twist it into something more perverted next time, or worse, he might add on to the amount of times he could drink her blood without her fighting.

She hears a door shut somewhere close, which causes her to jump. Even she could smell her own blood, so she had no doubts that the vampires could. Cautiously, Mai stands to her feet. She could hear voices, but couldn’t make out the words being said. With a jolt, she realizes that the others must have returned from school. Excitement helps to chase away the depression that was looming over her. She could share her information with Yui, and they could decide what to do together.

After all, Mai knew that she was in over her head at this point. Yui might be able to provide some insight that would help the two of them get of their circumstances. Mai slowly opens the door and makes her way toward the voices. She peeks out into the foyer to see that all of the brother’s had gathered together. They stood loosely around the edges of the room, though she noticed they all were a considerable distance from the door. Only one stood in the exact center of the room, and that person was Reiji. A tense atmosphere seemed to be coating the air, making the fine hairs stand on end along Mai’s body. Something was coming, but she had no idea what it would be. Her eyes flicker over all of the brothers’ faces. They all seemed to be either tense or outright angry, even Reiji. Yui seems to notice Mai and quickly motions her over. Without a second thought, Mai bolts across the room to stand beside Yui. Concern flashes over Yui’ face, but it disappears when she presses closer to Mai. She says in a barely audible voice. “Their father is coming.”

Those words should have been a relief, but the tense atmosphere was making Mai feel that this was anything but good. She feels a jolt when Ayato presses against Yui’s other side, effectively sandwiching the girl between the two of them. Yui takes a step back, which places her behind him. He sends a glower in Mai’s direction, but he doesn’t shoo her away. A thought races through Mai’s mind. It was almost as if Ayato was planning to shield Yui from his father’s view. The thought sent a shiver down her spine. If Ayato felt that way, what type of person was their father?

“Human.” A cold voice cuts into her thoughts before she has a chance to really think it over. Mai’s dark gaze turns to meet Reiji’s cold, red one. “You are to step back and remain silent. This doesn’t concern you. I would send you to Yui’s room, but I do not trust you to not lurk and eavesdrop. I’d rather you stay where I can keep an eye on you.”

Mai bites back a retort, but she tries to slink back out of clear sight. She knew that Reiji wasn’t trying to actually helpful, but she was still thankful for his advice; no matter how cruel it came across. She jumps when she feels an arm drop around her shoulders. Her gaze snaps up to meet Laito’s amused one. She barely manages to not snarl at him. There was no way that she could remain out of sight with him leaning on her the way he was. She doesn’t get a chance to shove him away though, since a soft voice cuts through the silence of the room.

“It is good to see you again, my dear sons.”

Though it spoken with apparent love, those words seem to cause the tension to rise. She could feel Laito tensing beside her. He pulls her closer to his side, though it felt more like he was holding onto her than trying to protect her the way that Ayato had for Yui. For a brief moment, she’s sure that she could feel his hand shaking with a repressed emotion, but she isn’t sure what it is since it’s gone. In fact, his entire body seems to relax. The only indication that he wasn’t happy was the fact that he kept her held tightly against him. It made her feel almost bad for him. It was like a child holding onto a favorite toy when faced with something scary. The thought makes her wrinkle her nose and decide that she was overthinking Laito’s actions. Her eyes turn from the red head beside her to the man standing just within reach of Reiji.

He’s dressed in a suit. His short, blonde hair is neatly combed. His golden eyes show wisdom far beyond his visible age behind a set of dark framed glasses. He looked to be only in his late twenties or early thirties, far too young to have grown children. His charming smile is cast around the room, seemingly oblivious to the tension or hatred. His eyes linger in Ayato and Yui’s direction for a moment, and they linger on Mai. An uncomfortable feeling settles over Mai. She’s faintly aware of the fact that Laito was gripping her shoulder tighter than before. Mai unconsciously leans into Laito’s side. Tougo offers Mai a disarming smile, that she can’t help but nervously return.

Thankfully, he turns his attention back to Reij, who gives him a professional bow. Reiji’s face doesn’t move from the usual disinterested look he always wears, though Mai isn’t sure when the look of tension had melted away. He greets his father and offers several different things to eat or drink that are turned down. Finally, he asks in a polite tone. “To what do we owe the honor of your visit, father?”

Tougo’s gaze turns to Yui, who was hiding behind Ayato. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Ayato visibly tensing up, but she can’t see his face from where she is standing behind him. She can see that Yui is pressed against Ayato’s back, and it looked like she was shaking. Tougo says in an incredibly gentle voice, “Come now, little one. I’m not going to hurt you. Why don’t you step out so I can see you properly?”

Ayato seems to release an almost inhuman growl that causes Mai’s body to jerk. That simple movement draws unwanted attention to herself. Before she has a chance to mimic Yui’s behavior and hide behind Laito, Tougo seems to materialize before her. His finger runs along her now swollen bottom lip. She jerks back as a shock of cold rushes through her face. His eyes show clear apology. She is now vividly aware that Laito’s grip had disappeared. In fact, he was no longer standing beside her, but he seemed to be hovering near by. Tougo offers her a charming smile.

He was more terrifying than anything she had faced in the house so far. Mai retreats another step, which causes her back to press against the wall behind her. His voice comes out as a coo, like he was trying to calm a frightened animal. “You are Mai?”

A lump forms in her throat. Something was terribly off about him. There had to be if the brothers behaved the way they did. It didn’t matter how nice he was to her, and it didn’t matter how sweet his words were. His children were warped, and there had to be a reason for that. She kept repeating those words in her mind and forces herself to nod slowly. He releases a soft breath and turns his gaze to Laito, who seems to be offering a calm smile, despite the clear burning hatred in his eyes.

She could see the semblance now, which just frightened her even more. They were both excellent actors. His golden eyes turn to focus on Mai once more before she can dwell on her thoughts any further. She finds herself frozen, despite the warm look he is giving her. “I apologize for my son’s behavior. I assume he is the one who has hurt your lip? Rest assured that he will be punished properly. I am aware of all the misfortune he has caused you and your family.”

She’s not sure why she does it, but she shakes her head. “That’s not necessary.”

He gives her a mildly curious look that has her clamping her jaw shut. He offers her that charming smile once more, but it does nothing to reassure her. She didn’t think he was angry, but she didn’t want him being interested in her either. That felt almost worse than Kanato’s tantrums. “Thank you for trying to protect him, but he knew that his punishment was coming. As for amending his mistakes, I have offered your parents a job directly below me.”

Slowly, she nods her head. He tilts his head looking thoughtful. “There is also your education. I will inform the academy that you’ll be returning on Monday.”

Mai opens her mouth to argue, but she finds that the words die in her throat the second she finds his face inches from hers. His cologne washes over her, but she can’t find words to discribe it. Her body feels rigid. She wants nothing more than to pull away from him, but she finds that she’s unable to move. He gives her a questioning look. “Are you dissatisfied? I could off your family more. A larger house, newer cars. Just name your price, and it will be done.”

He spoke with such finality that she found impossible to argue. She forces herself to swallow hard in an effort to get rid of the lump that felt like it was choking her. She says in a soft voice. “No, that…. We appreciate your attempts, but my parents don’t wish to enter your employment.”

He releases a sigh and pulls away from her. He offers her a kind smile that once again throws her defences. He says in a kind voice. “I understand your parents’ feelings. It must have been terrible to see their daughter troubled so, but I wish to inform you that this is also a thank you gift.”

Mai can’t stop the bewildered feeling from taking over her body. He steps close once more and leans down to say softly to her, like he was sharing a secret. “You helped my charge feel comfortable in her new surroundings. It was such a drastic change from living in a church, and I was informed that she was feeling overwhelmed. I’m sure you can understand why. My sons are difficult to get along with during their good days, and they are impossible to be around on their bad days. You helped to make the transition easier for her, and that has helped me in more ways than you will ever know. Allow me reward you for doing that. Would that make this easier to accept?”

Mai finds herself nodding, though she’s not sure why. A smile spreads over his face, once more pulling a smile from her. He pulls away so suddenly that it leaves her feeling anxious. Had she done something wrong? He turns on his heel and starts back toward the center of the room. His voice raises slightly. “How is Christina, Subaru?”

“Fuck you, bastard!” Subaru snarls from the opposite side of the room. Mai jumps when a cracking sound fills the room, followed by a sigh of clear disapproval from Tougo. Mai leans to try to see what Subaru was doing. A look of pure hatred coated his face and eyes. He was standing with his fists clenched at his sides. A large hole in the wall was beside him. The most terrifying part was the fact that he had his lips pulled back in a snarl, clearly showing his pointed teeth. The sight causes a shiver race down her spine, and she leans against the wall even tighter. She jumps when a soft sigh to her right alerts her to the fact that Shuu was standing against the wall not far from her. It felt like he was using Ayato to hide as well, since he was standing directly behind him, though not nearly as close as Yui was.

His eyes was closed, and his arms were loosely folded over his chest. His face was devoid of any emotion. In fact, it looked like he was sleeping standing up, which wouldn’t surprise Mai. She turns her attention back in Subaru’s direction when she hears him snap something rude to his father before he disappears. Tougo lets out an almost sad sounding sigh, making Mai feel bad for him. It must not be the greatest feeling in the world to have a child hate you the way that Subaru clearly does. Once more, he turns in Mai’s direction, but, thankfully, it’s not Mai who holds his attention this time. His golden eyes flick back toward Ayato and Yui. Mai couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief at not being the center of attention.

“Hello, my dear. This is the first time we have met, is it not? I hope that you are being treated well by my sons? You can tell me if you are not. I’ll see that they understand the proper way to treat a young woman.”

Mai’s thoughts turn to the women that Kanato had turned into dolls. She couldn’t help but doubt the sincerity of his words. There was no way that he couldn’t know about the dolls, is there? His golden gaze seem to lazily slide over Ayato, since he can’t actually see Yui through his son’s body. Mai can’t see Ayato’s face, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to after hearing the cold voice coming from him. “What do you want, old man?”

Tougo doesn’t seem fazed by the clear hostility shown to him. Instead, it seems almost like he is enjoying it, though his tone is kind when he says. “It is good to see you actual care for something, Ayato. I was beginning to think that you were a lost cause.”

Those cold words comes as more of a shock than Mai would like to admit. He had said it in such a kind voice, that Mai was wondering if she had heard him wrong. Ayato makes a sound of irritation, but Tougo doesn’t give him a chance to reply. He pulls back a sleeve to look at his watch with a thoughtful look. His gaze lifts in Reiji’s direction. “When is the next family meal?”

Reiji doesn’t miss a beat. He respectfully says. “Next friday.”

Tougo turns to offer a smile in Mai’s direction, though her skin feels like it’s crawling this time. He wasn’t what he appeared to be. “You are a fascinating young lady, Miss Mai. Won’t you join my foolish sons in a family dining? I believe it would certainly help out their manners.”

She slowly starts to shake her head. There was no way that she was getting roped further into the Sakamaki household. She was already deeper than she ever wanted to be. In the blink of an eye, Tougo is standing before her, and he leans closer to her ear to mutter softly. “You want answers for what you have been seeing? I can tell you that you will find your answers here, in this household. What better way than to find every excuse to return here? One of my sons holds the answers, or perhaps they all hold a piece of the answer. What will it hurt to find out what you seek?”

It feels like everything around her freezes. She finds herself staring up into into his kind gaze with a look of shock. He reaches out to gently pat her cheek. Unsure of what to say, Mai remains silent and tries to keep her thoughts from running wild. The second his cold palm touches her cheek, a blast of cold chills her cheek. Tougo pulls away and turns his attention elsewhere. She’s faintly aware of him saying something to her about informing her parents of what is going on, and she hears him asking either Reiji or Shuu to take care of all of the paperwork. He’s gone before she can even get her thoughts in order. In fact, by the time she’s aware of her surroundings again, she finds herself alone with Shuu, who has slid to the floor, and Reiji, who stood before her with a stern face.

Reiji coldly informs her of the time to show up for the monthly dinner. He also informs her that all of the paperwork to re-enter school would be taken care of along with the paperwork to employ her parents. Everything would return to normal the following week. He asks her if she has any questions, but she numbly shakes her head. This was all happening so fast that she couldn’t think of any questions. Reiji releases a scoffing noise and holds out his hand. Mai stares at his outstretched hand without making a move. Finally, Reiji releases an irritated sigh.

“Give me your phone, human.”

Mai quickly fishes out the object out of one of the pockets and hands it over to him. She wasn’t sure how it had appeared in her pocket, but she decided not to dwell on it anymore. After a few minutes, he passes it back with a cold detached look on his face. She glances at it, but she doesn’t bother trying to figure out what he did to it. He abruptly turns and leaves her alone with Shuu. She stares after him silently for a few minutes.

“You should probably head home now,” a soft deep voice says, causing her to jump. She turns just in time for Shuu to brush past her. She turns to watch him disappear in the direction of the living room, likely to crash on one of the couches. He pauses just before he disappears from her view, and glances over his shoulder. Her dark eyes lock with his blue ones, and he says in a barely audible voice. “Be careful. He’s more possessive than he lets on.”

Mai opens her mouth to ask what he meant by that, but he’s gone before she has a chance. She slams her mouth shut and glowers in the direction of the living room. After a few seconds, she releases a sigh, turns, and walks toward the door. Just as she reaches it, her thoughts finally seem to fall into order. She still needed to talk to Yui to at least warn her about what was happening. Mai turns backs to make her way to make her way toward Yui’s room, but she freezes again. Her lip gives a painful throb, as if to remind her of the danger of lingering in the house for too long. Light was starting to filter through the windows, letting her know that the sun was coming up. A chill runs down her spine, and she stubbornly tells herself that it wouldn’t matter where she went. If Laito was hungry, he’d just appear. She glances down at the clothes she was wearing. What would her parents think about her wearing a boy’s clothing? The thought makes her flinch. They’d think that her hormones got the best of her, and they would jump into asking her uncomfortable questions. It’d only be made worse by the fact that her lip was swollen.

She wasn’t sure she wanted to go home now without her own clothes, but she knew that she wanted to go talk to Yui. Feeling torn, Mai stands there for what feels like hours, though she knows that it is really just a few minutes. She glances over her shoulder at the door, and she releases a sigh. Despite the want to go home, she felt like she hadn’t resolved anything, and she couldn’t make herself leave yet. She at least had to warn Yui about what was going to happen to her. Slowly, Mai forces herself in the direction of Yui’s room.

She’s incredibly grateful that she makes it there without incident. Yui was standing outside her room, clearly fidgeting. Her face lights up the moment that she sees Mai approaching. Mai opens her mouth to call out to her, but the look of desperation on her friends face halts any words that Mai had planned to say. Yui’s body collides with Mai’s so suddenly that it ends up sending them both scrambling backwards. Thankfully, Mai is able to somehow manage to remain upright, but she feels like the breath is being crushed out of her lungs by the bear hug that Yui is giving her. She opens her mouth to tell Yui that she had to talk to her about something important, but Yui’s face appears in front of her own with that same look of desperation that sends a bout of panic through her body.

“I’m so glad you are still here! I thought you had left! I wasn’t sure what to do! You have to help me!” Yui says in a rush. It didn’t even seem like she had taken a breath.

Panic rises in Mai’s chest, and her mind comes up with various scenarios that could have gone wrong in such a short amount of time, but nothing prepares her for Yui’s next words. “It’s Shuu!”

Mai finds herself staring at her friend in complete disbelief. Yui doesn’t seem to even notice the look though. Instead, she grips the front of Mai’s shirt tightly and gives her a small shake. “He’s sleeping in the hallway, and if Reiji finds him it’ll be a huge problem!”

Mai frowns at her friend, trying to quell the irritation that was threatening to overflow. This wasn’t an emergency. Mai had been seriously worried that Ayato had seriously hurt Yui, or something terrible had happened. The image of him hiding Yui behind him flashes through ther mind, and she instantly feels foolish for thinking that he might have hurt her friend. It may not seem like it, but Mai felt like she understood the couple better after witnessing what she did today. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was beginning to believe that Ayato had some sort of feelings for Yui. The pleading face just in front of hers draws her back to the present and wears on her nerves. If she didn't help Yui, she was positive that the small girl would try to move the eldest brother by herself. Finally, Mai releases a sigh and nods her consent to help her friend with the lazy blonde.

There was no way that she was going to win against Yui’s pleading look anyway. It always made her her look like she was younger than she was, which made Mai think of a child. A smile creeps onto her face, which she desperately fights. She was sure that Yui wouldn’t appreciate being thought of as a child. Thankfully, Yui doesn’t seem to notice the smile though, and she quickly leads the way down the hallway. 

As they follow the labyrinth of hallways, Mai thinks over everything that had happened in a matter of hours. She’s so lost in thought that she doesn’t see that Yui had stopped and ends up walking right into her friend’s back. Yui’s body rocks forward, but she doesn’t move otherwise. She leans up over her friend’s shoulder to find that Shuu appeared to have literally collapsed in the very center of the hallway. Yui glances back at her with a worried look on her face. Despite the fact that she knew she shouldn’t feel this way, Mai finds worry bubbling in her stomach. He hadn’t moved an inch since they had arrived. She slowly steps around her friend and moves to squat beside him. She wasn’t sure what she was actually going to be able do though. Should she reach out and feel for a pulse? Did they even have pulses?

She feels Yui towering over her and glances up at her friend, who gives her the same worried look as before. Mai turns her gaze back to the collapsed blonde. Cautiously, she reaches out to give his shoulder a light shove. His body rocks, but it doesn’t do anything else. Mai’s heart skips a beat as terror coats her throat. He hadn’t died, had he? The thought that she had just touched a dead body causes vomit to raise. She had to get out of this house. She had been around more dead things under one roof and in a matter of hours than she ever thought she would. She jerks to a standing position, still unsure of what to do. Yui asks softly. “What’s wrong?” 

Feeling stupid, Mai whispers back, “You don’t think he….you know, died, do you?”

Yui lets out a soft gasping sound. It was painfully obvious that the thought hadn’t even crossed her mind. She leans around Mai, seeming to inspect him closer.“I don’t think so, but he doesn’t look like he’s breathing.”

Mai flinches. She honestly hadn’t thought to feel for breath or even pay attention to his chest. She doesn’t get another chance to say or think anything else though. A groan from near their feet draws their attention downward. Both girls are relieved to see a few small movements from the body at their feet. He slowly opens one eye to give them a tired look. The relief is short lived for Mai though when Yui says. “Will you help me get him to his room?”

Mai feels a sense of deja vu sweep over her. She glowers at her friend and shakes her head just like before. Yui gives her that horrible pleading look, and Mai tries to force herself ignore it. She begins to lightly push Yui back in the direction they had came from. “We have other things to discuss, Yui. Leave him to his own devices. If Reiji gets a hold of him, then so be it.”

Yui shakes her head and gives Mai an almost sour look. “Mai, we can’t just leave him.”

Mai lets out a sigh and starts to try to herd Yui down the hallway once more. She wanted to inform her friend that she was too kind for her own good, but Mai decides against doing so. The last thing that she needed was Yui getting upset, and it turning into some sort of strange argument. A hand grabs the back of her shirt, but she doesn’t get a chance to look over her shoulder to confirm her worst fear though. An arm wraps around her shoulder, and a weight hits her back hard. She pitches forward, scrambling for anything to hold onto. Thankfully, she finds something to grab onto. Unfortunately, that something turns out to be Yui, who is easily dragged down.

Yui lets out a startled noise that is abruptly cut off. Mai’s not sure how it happened, but she had found herself laying half on top of Yui. The air is forced from her lungs on impact, and she feels like she’s unable to breath. A large body was pressing down on her from behind. Mai lets out a wheezing sound, which is made worse by Yui violently wiggling beneath her. Cold breath brushes her cheek, causing her to glance over her shoulder the best she can. Much to her displeasure, she finds Shuu’s face closer than she’s comfortable with him being. When he lets out a tired chuckle, his breath puffs over her face, causing her to quickly turn away. Yui gives her a pained look and pushes on Mai’s sides. Mai’s heart skips a beat at the look she is receiving, and she tries to brace herself against the floor and push upward, but, the second she does, Shuu wraps his arms around her upper body. Mai lets out a dismayed sound when his arms settle over her breasts. She reaches up trying to push his arms away, but he just squeezes tighter, seeming to refuse letting her go. His face presses into her back, and he says something unintelligible. Yui lets out another pained sound, which draws Mai’s attention. Her face was turning red, and she was gasping for breath. Mai wasn’t completely on top of her, but it looked like she was on her enough that the combined weight of Shuu and herself was making it hard for Yui to breath.

Mai tries to ignore where she’s being touched and tries to push Shuu’s weight up. Her arms shake violently, and she manages only a couple of inches. Still, it was enough that Yui was able to get a couple of good breaths in before Mai’s strength leaves her the second that she feels something cold and wet running up the side of her neck. Shuu’s soft voice says softly, “I’m hungry.”

Yui’s face morphes into one of pure pain mixed with terror when the weight once again crushes her. Mai tries to twist away from Shuu, who once again licks her neck. She feels a shudder run through her body, and she wants nothing more than to just disappear. His tongue once again licks her skin. “You taste better than I thought you would.”

Another shudder races through her body, and she starts to thrash around. Yui lets out a pained sound, causing Mai to immediately stop. She didn’t think that she had physically struck Yui, but it couldn’t have been comfortable to be crushed, let alone have someone moving around on top. Her heart skips a beat at the look of pain on her red faced friend. Mai’s mind starts to race. She had to do something quick, or the weight might suffocate the small girl. Mai turns her face toward Shuu once more, only to have his tongue run up the side of her face, instead of running up her neck. She bites back the disgust threatening to overtake her, and says softly. “Shuu, can you get up? Please?”

 

He just responds with a groan. He mutters something about being too tired and hungry to move, but Mai’s not completely sure. Her panic was blocking out a lot of the sounds around her. She needed to get him off of her as soon as possible, so she could move off of her friend. She slams her hands into the ground and tries to shove upward again. Adrenaline seems to be on her side this time, since she was able to move a couple of inches off Yui. She hears a deep chuckle in her ear that makes her heart skip a beat. She closes her eyes tightly and tries to ignore it. All she needed to focus on was getting off of her friend.

He makes a soft noise in the back of his throat and says “I don’t see anything in it for me.”

Mai’s panic continues to rise. Yui’s lips were beginning to turn blue. The sight causes her to struggle even more. She doesn’t bother trying to keep the desperation out of her voice when she asks. “What do you want, Shuu?”

“I’m hungry,” Shuu says once more. Dread fills Mai’s stomach, since it didn’t take much thought to realize what he was asking for.

“Fine! Fine!” Mai breathlessly says. She was already stick with Laito, what more could she lose? Besides, she just needed him off of her friend. Shuu lets out a chuckle, and his weight disappears. He rolls to lay beside Yui, allowing Mai to quickly scramble to the other side of her friend, where she ends up kneeling. Yui takes in so many rough, deep breaths that Mai loses count. She leans over her friend with an anxious look. To her relief, Yui’s color seems to be returning with each deep breath that she takes. Once she has a normal color again, Mai lets her body relax before turning a cold look on Shuu. She barely manages to bite back the snarl that was creeping up her throat. She thrusts out an arm toward Shuu, who doesn’t even bother opening his eyes. Yui slowly sits up and scrambles to her feet. She sways for a moment before giving Mai a dazed look. Mai tries to offer her a smile and says, “Why don’t you go lay down? I’ll be there in a moment.”

Yui gives her a worried, but dazed look. Thankfully, she doesn’t put up a fight and staggers down the hallway. Mai turns her attention back to Shuu, who now has his eyes open. He gives her an amused look. She thrusts her arm at him once more. He gives it a disinterested look and says softly, “I need you to move closer. I’m too hungry to move.”

Mai rolls her eyes and stands up. She makes a show of brushing herself off of imaginary dirt. She doesn’t repress the snarl this time. Instead, she makes sure that he can clearly hear it. “Then starve to death.”

She turns and makes her way down the hallway in the direction of Yui’s room. She hears him mutter something, which is followed by a chuckle. A chill runs down her spine, and she quickens her pace to get away from the blonde vampire. She glances over her shoulder to see that he hadn’t moved an inch. She’s not sure if she should find the sight comforting or not. She decides that it’s not a comforting thought at all. She tries to push the nervous feeling away when she arrives at Yui’s room. She doesn’t bother knocking, since the blonde knew that she was coming.

The second she steps in the room, she desperately wishes that she had knocked. Mai finds herself frozen in place at the sight before her. Yui was lying topless on top of her bed. Her skirt was higher up on her thighs, but, thankfully, it wasn’t showing anything. Mai didn’t pay much attention to the state of her friend’s undress though. Instead, her gaze was locked onto Ayato’s smug looking face. He was shirtless, and his pants were undone. Mai abruptly shuts the door, positive that she would be having nightmares about of Ayato leaning seductively over Yui for a while. She numbly spins on her heel and starts down the hallway.

There was no way that she was returning to this house. To hell with knowing why she was seeing the women; to hell with figuring out a way to help Yui. To hell with the whole household. It was a mistake to stay to talk to Yui, and it was an even larger mistake to think that she could possibly help Yui. This was nothing but a mess, and Mai was only making things worse for, not only herself, but Yui too.

Besides, Yui seemed happy, and it didn’t take much convince herself that Ayato loved Yui. Mai desperately tells herself that he would protect her from the others. She would just withdraw herself slowly from the whole situation, and, once she was free, she would continue on with her life like nothing happened. She slows, when she approaches the front double doors. Guilt fills her chest at thinking about leaving her friend alone with the vampires. She was just stressed and worried about her situation with Laito. She runs a hand through her hair. It wasn’t a reason to take it out on Yui, who had been nothing but kind. With a sigh, Mai settles for continuing on her path forward. She had learned some new information anyway, so it wasn’t like she was leaving empty handed. A shudder racks her body. She was anything but empty handed. If anything, she was in debt now. Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to follow through trying to trick Laito.

The lazy blonde vampire might be a new option. After all, she told him that he could bite her, but he hadn’t actually tried. She tries to steel her resolve, but she finds that she isn’t reassured in trying to tangle with Shuu. It felt like he was hiding something. The uncomfortable sensation causes her to let out a sigh. Regardless, she wasn’t sure that she should continue on the path with Laito. It seemed more self-destructive than helpful. Her thoughts turn to the other three. Kanato was so childlike that she wasn’t sure he would know. Even if he did, she was sure that it’d be like tangling with Laito all over again, only Kanato had horrible tantrums. Reiji just plain scared her.

Perhaps she should look to Subaru? He might be another option, despite his anger. She had seen small tendrils of kindness through his rough exterior. She arrives at the front door before she knows it, and she doesn’t hesitate to reach out for the door. Just as her hand touches the door handle, she freezes. The chilling sensation of being watched washes over her, causing her to glance over her shoulder, but she doesn’t find anyone. She feels her skin starting to crawl and quickly opens the door without a second thought and quickly bolts out, though she was still looking over her shoulder.

Her body collides with something solid, knocking her back. She still had a hand on the door, so she uses that to stay on feet. Her gaze snaps around to find the eerie old man that seemed to stalk Reiji. A chill races down her spine at the fact that his face was completely devoid of emotion. In fact, he seemed completely unaffected by her slamming into him. He simply bows, steps aside, and sweeps his arm outward in order to gesture toward a black car waiting in the driveway. An uncomfortable silence settles between the two of them before she asks softly. “Is that meant to take me home?”

The old man only nods his head, then bows slightly. He doesn’t straighten up, making Mai feel even more uncomfortable. She shuts the door and quickly hurries toward the car. At least she would be getting a ride. Just as she reaches out to grab the door handle that leads to the back seat, a hand appears from beside her. She jumps and glances up to meet cold red eyes.

It looked like the ride had just gotten even more uncomfortable. Reiji makes a small gesture toward the back seat, but he doesn’t say a word. Mai swallows hard and slides into the back seat. She silently prays that Reiji wouldn’t slide in behind her.

Unfortunately, that prayer goes unheard when he slides in beside her and shuts the door. His voice is low as he tells the driver her address. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, but it does nothing to quell the shaking in her hands. She ends up clenching them tightly together and keeps her eyes closed. It didn’t help her situation, but it did make her feel better to not have to see him. She tried not to dwell on the fact that he knew her address, despite never having been there.

“We have a few things to discuss,” Reiji coldly states. Mai lets out a low breath, and every muscle in her body tenses. The ride home was going to be just as horrible as the time she had to walk home. She offers up a new prayer. This one was that the ride would be short, but she had a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach that was letting her know that this one wasn’t going to be answered either.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally meant to get this out way earlier than I have. I read back over it and ended up tweaking a few things, so it came out much later than I meant to! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Thank you for your patience and thank you for reading!

She thought that Reiji would immediately start talking; however, he just silently sat beside her. Her heart hammers against her chest even harder as the seconds tick by, and she tries to distract herself by staring out the window. Finally, she simply rests her head against the cool window and closes her eyes. Once her body finally relaxes, she opens her eyes and turns her head just enough to make sure that Reiji really was there and not a figment of her imagination. Unfortunately, he was, so she turns her attention back to the street outside the car. Curiosity was starting to burn a hole in the pit of her stomach. Against her better judgement, she gives into her curiosity and turns her gaze to Reiji. One leg was crossed over the other, and his hands were neatly rested in his lap. His eyes were closed, and he almost looked serene. For a brief moment, Mai finds herself unable to pull her gaze away from him.

 

It was so unfair that all of the brothers were handsome, almost alluring, to look at. The thought of their rotten personalities help to dispel the illusion that they created. Thankfully, she doesn’t get a chance to dwell on her thoughts. Unfortunately, it’s due to a cold look of disgust that flickers over Reiji’s handsome face. She can’t help but feel that he is mocking her by letting her see it. Every muscles in her body tenses to the point of pain, and her hands grip her borrowed pants tightly. Her gaze snaps back out the window, and she takes a slow breath to steady her nerves, though she knows it won’t help at all. She flinches when the sound of his voice fills the silence after she releases her breath. “Now that our family will be supporting you, we expect you to behave like a civilized individual.”

 

Despite the irony in that statement, anger heats her entire being, and she turns her heated glare in his direction. He simply returns the glare with a cool, impartial look of his own. Her voice is low and quivering with anger when she says, “Your family isn’t su-”

 

“One such thing is to at least bring your own clothing.” His eyes flick down her body then back up to meet her eyes with that same cold, impartial look from before. “Borrowing from my brother is not appropriate of a girl your age.”

 

Mai clenches her fists even harder, but she bites back a response. There wasn’t a point in arguing with Reiji. Just as she suspected, he continues on without seeming to be concerned with her clear look of anger. “You are to get good grades. If you are having troubles with a subject, be sure to ask one of us before you go to a teacher. We will not have you embarrassing our family by appearing stupid. We are arranging a private tutor to take preemptive measures, since you will not have easy access to me or the others.”

 

In an effort to keep her temper in check, Mai forces herself to turn her gaze back to the scenery outside her window, and it falls silent once more. The silence was wearing on her even more than his cold words. Unable to take it anymore, Mai turns her attention back to Reiji and regards him for a couple of seconds. His eyes had closed once more, as if he was patiently waiting for either her to say something or the ride to be over. She shifts in the seat and glances back out the window. It was time to change the subject to something less offensive. Trying to keep her voice as civil as she can, she asks, “Has anyone been able to get away from one of your brothers before?”

 

The silence that settles between them stretches for a only few moments, but it felt like forever to Mai. Had she been to obvious with her prodding? Just before Mai gives up hope that he will actually answer her, he says. “If this is a reference to Yui, than I would recommend that you give up any efforts on freeing her. She belongs to the Sakamaki family now. There is nothing a human such as yourself can do about it.”

 

Goosebumps rise all over her body, and she is unable to actually turn to look at him. It was like he was talking about some inanimate object and not a human being. His voice was almost cold enough to physically feel it. Mai finds herself struggling to swallow the lump of fear that was firmly lodged in her throat. She takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. She wished that her question had been about Yui, but it wasn’t. In order to help Yui, she had to have a clear head, and she didn’t think she would be able to have one while she was worrying about her deal with Laito. She truthfully says, “this isn’t about Yui.”

 

In an effort to quell the guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach, she tells herself that there is no way that she’d be able to get anything useful out of Reiji anyway. She begins to feel foolish for even trying to ask Reiji for information. Thankfully, they had just pulled up to her house. At least, she’d be able to forgo the awkward silence following her statement. Her fingers just brush the door handle when a mind numbing pain races from her wrist to her shoulder. The pain is quickly followed by an almost freezing sensation. Her heart skips a beat, and she snaps her head around to give Reiji a bewildered look. The thoughtful look that she found on his face almost gave the impression that he was facing an interesting puzzle, which was far from reassuring. His voice doesn’t reveal any of the curiosity. “This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with Laito, would it?”

 

Despite herself, Mai can feel her face flushing. A satisfied look flashes over his face, but it’s gone just as soon as it appears. The only reassurance she is able to take away from the situation is the fact that he didn’t get a smug, ‘I told you so’ look. He makes a soft scoffing sound and grips her wrist even tighter. Her opposite hand wraps around the door handle, but it does nothing to help her with her current situation. It only gives her a strange sense of relief against the belittling gaze that she can see in Reiji’s cold, red eyes. She swallows against the lump of terror that is forming in her throat and wants nothing more than to turn away. Even better, she’d like to get as far as humanly possible away, but she finds herself unable to even tear her gaze away from him. To her utter embarrassment, Reiji doesn’t lower his voice when he asks, “How far have you tangled yourself up in Laito’s hands?”

 

Mai’s gaze unconsciously flicks toward the driver. She hadn’t given any thought about his presence. In fact, she hadn't even looked at him the entire time they had been driving, and she now wishes she hadn’t. The mere sight of his reflection in the rearview mirror stops both her heart and her breath. His face didn’t look human at all. In fact, it looked like something out of a horror movie. He didn’t have eyes. Instead, they were nothing but black holes with a dim light in what appeared to be deep inside his skull. His skin was stretched awkwardly over his bones, almost as if it was nothing more than a mask. His nose looked like a pig snout. As disgusting as it was, she was surprised that she didn’t see any snot running. She cringes when she sees a thin line that looked like it had been drawn with a dull pencil beneath his nose. She could only assume that was his mouth. She isn’t able to bite back the startled, half-scream from leaving her mouth. The best she can do is release the door and press her now shaking hand against her mouth to try to stifle the sound. Unable to stomach the terrifying appearance anymore, Mai turns to look at Reiji, who is watching her with mild amusement. She jerks on the arm he is holding at the same time that she grabs the door handle again and shoulders the door in an attempt to open it. Unfortunately, the door doesn’t open. The sensation of being trapped with a couple of dangerous animals starts to overwhelm her. She didn't know if she should turn to see why the door wasn't opening or keep her eyes on the amused Reiji. She decides to keep her gaze locked onto the vampire and continue to try to open the door. A shudder runs down her spine, and she can hear that shudder echoing in her breathing, which seemed oddly loud in the now silent car.

 

“How can he drive looking like that?! Aren’t you worried that someone will see?!” Mai asks louder than she meant to. She knew that she didn’t have any hope of distracting Reiji, especially being so upset, but she needed to say something, or do something, to distract herself. Gripping the door handle till her knuckles turned white wasn't helping at all. Reiji just continues to watch her with mild interest. After a moment, he lets out a chuckle. The sound makes her heart skip a beat. She didn’t know that laughter could actually sound so evil in real life. Every fine hair was standing on end, and she considers glancing back at the driver. The thought sends a twist of cold fear through the pit of her stomach, letting her know that would be a bad idea. His grip felt like it was going to crush the bones in her arm. Silence settles between them for a couple of seconds before Reiji lets out another chuckle. His hand slips away from her wrist, and he sits back, looking relaxed for the first time since she had met him. Every warning bell in her head starts to ring loudly. She knew now that there was not going to be any chance of escape from him. She presses her body as tightly against the door as she can and tries to wait patiently for him to have his fun.

 

“He is nothing more than a familiar. He does the menial tasks around the house such as driving. The windows are tinted, so people cannot easily see him. In the event that someone does manage to see him, he would appear normal to regular humans. Though, there are a few humans…” He gives her a once over that makes her want to call out of her skin. The curiosity on his face was one that she had seen on her parents’ faces many times. It was like he was looking at an interesting experiment instead of a young human girl. “...that can see part of what he truly looks like. Perhaps you are more interesting than I originally gave you credit for.”

 

Mai clenches her jaw so tightly that her teeth begin to ache. His red eyes turn to look at the driver before they return to her expectantly. For a moment, the look throws her, but she finally realizes that he was waiting for her to answer his question about Laito. She tries not to glance in the driver’s direction. Human or not, it was still embarrassing to admit her shortcomings out loud, much less with a creepy audience. Still, it’s like Reiji reads her mind. His voice is once again stern and cold. “Human, you are wasting my time. That familiar does not care what you say, nor will he ever repeat what is said in the car.”

 

Mai barely manages to not flinch. With a deep breath to calm herself, she gives him a vague rundown of what happened between her and Laito. She simply tells him that she had made a deal with Laito to answer her questions in return for not fighting against him when he tries to drink from her. It doesn’t come as a surprise that he asks her what information she had wanted to know. With her cheeks burning in embarrassment, she tries to keep some information to herself, but he eventually forces it out of her anyway. After she told him more than she wanted, she expected him to criticize her for falling for such a simple trick, but he didn’t say a word. She was getting tired and impatient with the silence that had followed her explanation. It felt like she had been sitting only feet away from safety for hours.

 

The lock releasing is like music to her ears, even if it makes her feel like a fool for not looking for the lock earlier. She slips out of the car, gently shuts the door and starts around the back of the car in order to head to her house, only to freeze at a horrifying sight. Reiji was already standing outside the car. His face was completely devoid of any emotion, and he was holding a briefcase that she hadn’t seen in the car. She tries to keep her voice even when she asks. “What do you think you are doing?

 

He gives a coldly indifferent look. “I do not believe you are capable of informing your parents of your agreement with my family. You will not tell them all that is required of your new position. In all reality, I doubt you will even tell them what has happened; therefore, I will be the one that informs them.”

 

Mai feels disbelief overwhelm her. She casts a nervous glance in the direction of her house, silently hoping her parents hadn’t looked out the window yet. Upon not seeing any movement, she turns her attention back toward Reiji and firmly shakes her head. To her horror, he is already walking away from her. She scrambles to catch up with him. The moment that she is in arm’s reach, she lifts her arm in an attempt to grab his sleeve but thinks better of it and lets her hand drop. Instead, she quickly steps in front of him and gives him her best glare when he stops. It doesn’t surprise her to see a look of distaste flash over his face. She doesn’t let that bother her though. Instead, she puts as much strength as she can into her voice and says, “You can’t just waltz up to my door and announce that I was with your family last night. I told them I was staying at a female friend’s house. I’m already not dressed appropriately, according to you. This will just make things more difficult than they need to be. I don’t think they will want to listen to you or me explain what is going on if I show up in the morning dressed in unfamiliar men’s clothing with a guy. This is the worst possible timing you can choose!”

 

She tried so hard to stress the fact that her parents would get the wrong impression, but she may have well been talking to a wall. Reiji simply steps around her and continues on his way without another word. He’s at the door before she can stop him. She doesn’t get a chance to even try to stop him from knocking. It almost felt like he was nailing her coffin shut. Her head falls forward, and she takes deep, defeated breath. She literally drags her feet to the bottom of the stairs. Unfortunately, it’s at that moment that the door opens.

 

Her father is clearly still in his pajamas, with sleep clinging to his face. He regards Reiji with a detached sort of irritation that Mai rarely saw. However, that irritation melts away into surprise, followed by confusion, which quickly gives way to anger the moment his eyes drift over and lock with Mai’s. Her gaze drops back down to her feet, and she fights embarrassed tears. She glances up for a moment to find that he was once again looking at Reiji. It wasn’t a surprise that her father was looking at Reiji with a renewed, yet critical, look. A sick feeling settles into Mai’s stomach, since it was obvious what her father was thinking. Anger is barely suppressed in his voice when he says, “Who are you?”

 

Reiji makes a slight bow. Once he straightens back out, he holds out a hand, but her father doesn’t even glance at it, much less move to shake. Reiji only offers it for a few moments before he lets his hand return to his side. Letting curiosity get the better of her, Mai leans just enough to find that unspoken insult didn’t affect Reiji in the slightest. Mai notices a swift, jerky movement from the corner of her eye and turns her attention in that direction. Her heart sinks when she sees that it’s her father making a small gesture at her to get inside. It was a strange, but she didn’t want to go inside. She knew what was going to happen.

 

Best case scenario, they would ask her what she had done with Reiji. They may or may not believe her, and she would only get away with a lecture and be grounded for a while.

 

The worst case scenario, they would ask her what she had done with Reiji, which would be quickly followed by an awkward talk about sex and all of the horrible diseases that came with them. They would explain a teenage boy’s mindset, then would move on to asking who Reiji was. When they found out that he was related to Laito, everything would get worst. She would have to listen to them lecture about how she can’t be keeping so close to her tormentor. They may send her to a therapist for Stockholm Syndrome.

 

She figured that she was likely going overboard with the worst case scenario, but she knew that it wouldn’t be a pleasant experience. Still, it wouldn’t do to make her father even angrier by lingering longer than she already had. She slips up past Reiji, careful not to touch him. The second that she steps past her father, Reiji starts to talk again. “I’m here on behalf of my father. I have a couple of things to discuss with you, sir.”

 

Mai’s gaze snaps back to stare at Reiji. She tries to silently warn him not to say anymore; however, he wasn’t looking at her. Something was off about him, but she couldn’t place it. That’s when it hit her. He was being his usual, seemingly polite self, but it felt almost like he was being too polite. Was he trying to win her father over? The thought sent a shiver down her spine. Why would he need to do that?

 

An uneasy silence settles between the two men. Tension was becoming so think that it was almost tangible. Finally, her father asks in soft voice, “who is your father?”

Her father sounded almost threatening, but Reiji didn't even seem fazed by it. With a calm tone, he answers, “Touga Sakamaki.”

 

Without warning, the door cuts off Mai’s view of Reiji. She doesn't get a chance to even feel surprise before her father seems to spin on his heel to face her. A look of pure anger was on his face, and it only grows darker when he, once again, looks her down then up. The second their eyes meet, she knows that she's in trouble. Fury laces his tone when he asks, “Where have you been? What have you been up to?”

 

She opens her mouth to answer, but a soft knock cuts her off. Both turn their gaze to door. A look of irritation flashes over her father's face as he turns to his back on Mai once again. They both seem to know who it is before her father even opens the door. Mai tries to fight the grateful feeling that was welling up inside of her chest. She would never openly thank Reiji, but he delayed the inevitable just enough that she now had time to think up a valid excuse to a few questions.

 

Upon seeing him again, it frustrated Mai’s father that Reij didn’t seem fazed by having a door slammed in his face. Instead, he says before her father could speak. “I have terms to go over you with, and I regret to inform you that they are non-negotiable terms. I will continue to knock until you hear me out.”

 

Upon hearing those words, chills race up and down Mai’s spine. The desperate need to escape the situation overwhelms her, so she turns to head to her room, but her father’s voice stops her dead in her tracks. “Mai?”

 

She stares longingly up the stairs, silently wondering where her mother was. She hears her father call her name again and slowly turns to face the two. It felt like she was about to suffocate. They were both staring at her with expectant looks. Reiji’s was a cold, detached look, while her father’s was barely containing frustration and anger. Her father sounded calmer than he looked when he asks, “Mai, what is going on? What is he talking about?”

 

With a rush of air from her lungs, Mai tries to get her thoughts in order. The anxious feeling that was welling up in her chest was making it hard to talk. Feeling completely ashamed, her eyes drop to the ground, and she mutters softly, “Dad, I’m sorry. I think we have a few things to discuss.”

 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

That was how they found themselves sitting at the kitchen table an hour later. Mai and her father on one side of the table. Reiji was sitting patiently on the opposite side of the table. Mai had just finished explaining the deal Tougo Sakamaki had gotten her to agree to. Her eyes hadn’t lifted from table once during her explanation, though she was tempted to now. No other sound had followed her explanation, and it was starting to feel hard to breath. Finally, Mai’s eyes slowly lift to look up at Reiji. His eyes were closed with his hands neatly folded before him on the table. Laying out on either side of those hands were two neat piles of paper with a pen on top of each small stack. Mai’s gaze slowly turns to her father. What she sees causes her heart to skip a beat. He looked so tired and defeated. Once again, she wonders where her mother was, but she pushes the worry to the back of her mind. Her gaze draws back to the two stacks of papers, but she didn’t even bother trying to read what they said. A cold feeling settles into her stomach. Each pile was directly in front of either her or her father.

 

“Dad?” Her voice is barely audible.

 

She’s promptly ignored since her father asked at the same time, “She won’t be mistreated, will she?”

 

Mai’s gaze snaps up to her father’s face in complete disbelief. In fact, she was positive that her jaw was hanging open. The second his eyes meet hers, a look of pain flashes over his face. Mai is unable to tear her gaze away from her father, even when Reiji says, “She will be treated like a guest when she comes for the dinners. You have our word.”

 

Mai finds her hands tightly gripping the edge of the table. She felt like this whole situation was one large lie. She hadn’t been treated as a guest at their house even once. They weren’t even civil to the one guest that was living with them. Mai had experienced nothing but nerve wracking situations if any of them were involved. The paper makes a soft sound as it is dragged along the table toward her father. Mai finds that her body is completely frozen as she watches him pick up the pen. She wanted him to say no; she wanted to reach out, take the pen away, and tell Reiji where to go, but she found that she was frozen. All she could do was watch her father glance through the papers and sign. Time seemed to slow to a crawl.

 

Something brushes her arm, causing her to jump and turn her worried gaze to meet cold, red eyes. The second that something bumps her arm, she glances down. The papers in front of her causes her to feel nauseous. She starts to shake her head, but she stops after only a couple of shakes. Pain fills her chest when she realizes that it wouldn’t matter if she didn’t sign the apparent contract. She glances in her father’s direction, who was frowning down at the papers he had just signed. Everything had already been sealed with his signature. Her heart suddenly feels as if it had just sunk to the bottom of her stomach. Reluctantly, she turns her attention back to the paper and begins to glance through it. It just spoke about what time she was expected to show up for dinner, and that she was to dress comfortably but semi-formal. If she did not have such clothing, she was to inform either Shuu or Reiji. A budget would be placed for her to get the appropriate attire. Should she fail to uphold the dress code and the time frame, she would receive whatever punishment was deemed fit. With a flinch, she signs and dates the bottom. She didn’t even want to think about what type of punishment she would possibly receive.

 

She glances through the next papers. It is a long list of what is expected of her at school. She is not to engage in inappropriate actions that would result in expulsion from school. She was to maintain A’s or B’s in all classes, and she would show a list of classes to either Shuu or Reiji for approval. She was to arrive at least ten minutes before the first warning bell. She was to wear the approved uniform. Should she feel ill, she was to inform the Sakamaki household before informing the school. She was to attend every class she received. The part that made her heart stop was one of the last paragraphs. It said that she was to receive a ride to and from school. It even gave the exact time that the car would be outside her house, along with how long she had before it left her behind.

 

She couldn’t stop her hands from shaking. Her mind pulls up the image of the driver, and she barely represses a terrified whimper. She could only hope that it wouldn’t be the same driver that she had today. She forces herself to sloppily sign the paper, silently hoping that she wouldn’t end up riding with the brothers. She didn’t bother looking for the punishment clause since she knew it would be vague.

 

Her father calmly passes his papers over to Reiji, who accepts them. Mai glances at them wondering if her father had different papers. Her father abruptly stands, muttering something about letting Mai’s mother know and getting the documentation needed to start his new job. Mai reaches out for him, but he’s gone before she gets a chance to touch or say anything. Her hand hovers in mid air for a few seconds before a soft click causes her to remember that Reiji was still with her. She lets her hand fall to the table and turns a furious gaze on Reiji, but she doesn’t get a chance to say anything. The papers had disappeared back into the briefcase, and he was standing. The thing that surprised Mai was the fact that he was giving her a look of pure disgust. That made her realize that she didn’t think that Reiji was capable of displaying emotion.

 

“You smell disgusting. Go shower.”

 

She couldn’t believe that he had said that so calmly. She tries to reign in the offended feeling that is threatening to overwhelm her. She knew it wouldn’t be wise to get an attitude with him. Barely able to restrain her anger, Mai says as calmly as possible. “I’m sorry that I don’t smell up to your expectations, but I can assure you that I have a regular showering routine. I assume that the clothes are the source. I imagine they smell like Laito, but I didn’t have much of a cho-”

 

He makes an uncharacteristic snarling sound. “You dimwitted human. I wasn’t speaking about that pervert’s smell. It’s at least tolerable.”

 

Confusion fills Mai, completely suffocating the anger that she felt before. She couldn’t figure out what Reiji meant. Her brain was trying to run through the people she had recently interacted with. She had spent most of it with Laito, so she assumed that Reiji was referring to the redhead’s lingering scent. It had to be the strongest, right?

 

Could it have been Yui?

 

Mai opens her mouth to ask, but her father chose that moment to reappear. Reiji’s face was once again the mask of indifference. He gives her father directions to where her parents would be working. Both men were ignoring Mai, though she grateful for that fact. It gave her a few moments to gather what was left of her sanity. After a few minutes, she silently slips from the room. Just before she leaves, she glances back to meet Reiji’s cold, red eyes. Once again, a look of disgust flashes over his face. It was almost like he had tasted something foul, but it's gone just as fast as it appeared. Bewildered, Mai makes her way up to her room. She collects some of her own clothing and decides to shower. She stubbornly tells herself that it wasn’t because Reiji told her to.

 

When she enters the bathroom, she pauses in front of the mirror. After a few minutes of staring at herself, she drops her clothes on the counter and lifts the neck of her shirt to give it a sniff. She could smell Laito’s cologne, but she couldn’t smell anything disgusting. She drops the neck of the shirt and lifts one of her arms then the other. She finally smells the belly area of the shirt. She knew that she wouldn’t smell anything, but it didn’t stop her from feeling even more confused than before. There was only the lingering scent from Laito and nothing else. With a shake of her head, she turns her back to the mirror and prepares to shower.

 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

The house is eerily silent when she finishes. She quickly moves to her room and shoves Laito’s clothes to the bottom of her hamper. After that, she shoves her phone in the pocket of the baggy sweats she was wearing and moves downstairs. The house felt cold and dead the second her foot touches the ground floor. A quick sweep of the living room and kitchen reveals a letter from her father saying they would back later to discuss her punishment, and some money for take out. Her eyes water, but she stubbornly refuses to cry. Slowly, she makes her way back into the kitchen, where she sits in one of the chairs. Just as she gets settled, her phone rings, causing her to jump. She digs around in the pocket of her baggy sweats till she is able to pull it out and see who was calling her. Her heart stops the second she reads the name.

 

It said that it was Laito. With a grimace, she reluctantly answers and holds the phone up to her ear. “What do you want?”

 

“Hey, Sweetheart! Are you ready to go?”

 

“Huh?” She flinches at the stupid way she sounded. She doesn’t get a chance to rectify her question though, since Laito starts talking again.

 

“Reiji asked Shuu to give you some money to buy some clothes for the family dinners, but we all know that Shuu won’t do anything, so I offered to go in his stead. Isn’t that great? We get to spend time together!”

 

Mai flinches at the thought, and her eyes lock with the wall in front of her. “I think that I’m going to have to pass on your offer. I have clothes to wear to the dinners.”

 

He lets out a chuckle and says. “No need to be shy, Sweetheart! I promise I will pick out only what looks good on you.”

 

“I’m sure that they wouldn’t be clothes I’d feel comfortable wearing out in public, let alone a dinner,” Mai almost deadpans. He makes a playfully offended noise.

 

“I can assure I will pick appropriate clothing, and I know that you are lying to me. It’s bad to lie, you know.” It was almost like he was cooing to a little kid. Frustration flares at his tone, but she doesn’t get a chance to snap at him. He continues talking. “I’ll be over in a few minutes. Be ready! I’m not going to take you out in sweats or old clothes! I’ll dress you myself if I have to. Oh, and Reiji already went through your clothing to make sure that you had the right clothing.”

 

“What?! When did he do that?!” A beep is her only answer. Mai clenches her phone tightly and glares at the wall, like it’s at fault. Once again, she feels like her privacy had been violated. In fact, she was starting to wonder if any of the Sakamaki family knew the meaning of the word privacy. She doubted they did. With a sinking feeling, she realized that situations like this one would likely happen more often. She reluctantly makes her way back to her room and quickly changes into jeans and a loose fitting t-shirt that was on the newer end. Once she is done, she returns to the kitchen and sits down to wait.

 

It felt like only a few minutes had passed before cold hands land on her shoulders. She jumps, but she doesn’t give him the satisfaction of turning to look at him. Only seconds later, a playful voice whispers close to her ear. “Ready to go?”

 

Mai takes a deep breath and slowly nods. His chuckle brushes along her skin, raising all the fine hair on her body. Goosebumps form down her arms. She abruptly stands up and turns to glare at Laito, only to find him across the room. He gives her a playful smile and takes off his hat to mockingly bow to her. Mai can't help but roll her eyes, make her way past him, and out the door.

 

Once again, she finds herself in a nice black car that has windows that are tinted darker than normal. She stops mid-step upon seeing driver. For a heart stopping moment, she scans the man for anything out of the ordinary. He looked to be around the age of twenty. He was dressed in a black suit with a matching black chauffeur hat that she was positive out of the movies. His eyes were closed, making him look like he was at peace. He looked perfectly normal, which comes as an enormous relief. The sound of the passenger door opening prompts her to quickly make her way to the car, crawl in, and get comfortable on the far side. Laito slides in right after Mai gets settled. Only seconds later, the car is in motion. A sense of uneasy fills her stomach, and she glances in the rearview mirror just to make sure that he still looked normal. The man's eyes were now open, but she couldn't quite figure out what color his eyes were. She didn’t put much thought into it though, since she figured it be hard to tell the color from a mirror. She was just relieved to see that they weren’t just black pits with a dull light like the last driver. She jumps when something brushes her along upper thigh and snaps her gaze to Laito, who gives her a teasing smile on his face.

 

“Are you into older men?”

 

Without missing a beat, Mai gives him her best smile and sarcastically replies, “Yeah. I don’t know what it is about the mature type, but they seem so...”

 

She makes a dream sound and lets her voice trail off. Unfortunately, that earns a chuckle from him. She wasn't surprised when he continued their banter by replying with. “Well, I'm much older than you think I am.”

 

Mai makes a childish face at him. “Couldn't have guessed it. You act like a horny teenager. I don't think you have a mature bone in your body.”

 

He feigns a hurt expression before a sadistic look flashes over his face. He lets out a scoffing sound and leans dangerously close to her. She expected him to reach out and touch her, but he kept his hands and body just inches from hers. His voice is low, yet it's still got a playful hint to it. “You know, if you keep eying the help like you have been, I might be forced to feel jealous. I’ll have to punish you both, unless that is what you are looking for. Let me tell you one thing, though. Help is not better than the real thing. I've had first hand experience in this area, so you can trust that I’m not lying to you.”

 

A shiver runs down her spine, and she finds that she's not sure how to respond to the clear threat. The memory of the uncomfortable ride with Reiji flashes through her mind. She blurts out without a second thought. “I wasn't interested in him. He's probably a familiar anyway, right?”

 

The playful look disappears from Laito's face. In fact, it's unnerving to see no emotion at all on the red head’s face. She didn’t see him move. It is like she blinks, and, suddenly, his body presses lightly against hers. His gaze was facing forward though, like he was looking at the driver in the rearview mirror.

 

“Yeah, he is. He’s not what you would call human.”

 

Silence spreads through the car. Laito's voice still held the usual playfulness, but his face seemed thoughtful. Mai decides to not dwell on it and turns her gaze out the window. She numbly watches objects go by without paying much attention. Eventually, the car slows to a halt outside an expensive looking store. High end, name brand clothing logos are posted all over the windows beside mannequins that were wearing expensive looking clothing. Mai feels her stomach drop, and turns to tell Laito that he had made a mistake asking the driver to go to a store like this. The words halt in her throat at the look of excitement on his face. In fact, she wasn’t sure she had ever seen him looking so happy. She wasn't sure why, but she suddenly found it hard to say anything at all. With a flinch, Mai resigns herself to at least going into the store with him.

 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

She didn't want to admit it, but Laito did know what he was doing. Every single outfit he had picked out for her to try on had not only looked good on her, but it fit comfortably. She had been nervous when he had simply waved the approaching employee off. The woman had looked confused until Laito sent a charming smile in her direction. Red had flooded her cheeks, and she had scurried away, chuckling like a teenage girl who had just talked to her crush for the first time. Mai hadn't been able to keep from rolling her eyes before following a chuckling Laito.

 

With a quick shake of her head, Mai focuses on the mirror in front of her. She had lost count of the multitude of simple dresses, blouses, skirts, and other variety of clothing she had tried on. The clothing she was currently trying on was the only one to surprise her. It was a simple, metallic grey T-shirt with the brand name sprawled out in soft blue bubble letters down the left side. The neckline dipped low down her chest, which was covered by tank top. The tank top was white in color with pretty lace work along the neckline as well as the bottom. The material felt like silk against her skin. The pants were simple, yet very comfortable, blue jeans that were dark in color with decorative pockets. They fit good enough to show off her curves, but they weren't suffocatingly tight. She couldn’t help but feel a thrill of excitement at the sight.

 

That thrill disappears the moment green eyes appear over her shoulder. Her heart skips a beat, and she spins to face him. He gives her that same charming smile he gave the store worker before his eyes roam up and down her body with a hungry look on his face. She can't help but roll her eyes and stick her tongue out at him. With a jolt, she realizes she is acting so friendly with him, and she hadn’t even tried to shoo him out of the dressing room. She quickly sobers up and gives him her best glare, but she knows that it comes off as half-hearted, due to her burning cheeks. He gains a thoughtful look on her face and reaches out to lightly push her shoulder. A second push prompts her to turn in a circle under his thoughtful gaze. He releases a sigh and mutters. “It'll do.”

 

The second his eyes meet hers again, he gives her a playful grin. “Hungry?”

 

A wave of exhaustion spreads over her body. Shaking her head, Mai says softly. “I think it's time to go home.”

 

He gives her a playful pout and disappears before her eyes. With a sigh, she turn to grab her own clothes. Her heart skips a beat when she doesn't see them where she remembered putting them. Frantically, she looks all over the dressing room, but she can't find them. Her entire body tenses up with dread as the worst possible scenarios race through her mind. The only way they would be missing is if she had accidentally scooped them up with some of the clothes she had tried on and didn’t like, but she was positive that she hadn’t done that. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she was tired and had likely not given it much thought. After all, she didn’t even know how long they had been missing! With a racing heart, she opens the door to look for a store employee.

 

Her frantic eyes meet calm brown ones. The woman was a different one from the one that had greeted them at the door. She was a woman around the age of thirty and seemed to have an air of authority about her. She gives Mai a pleasant, but tired, smile. “Those fit you very well. Your boyfriend was very picky, but I think he knows what suits you best.”

 

The woman gives Mai a suggestive wink. It takes her a moment catch up realize what the woman was suggesting. Her face flushes a deep crimson, and she quickly starts to shake her head. “Oh no, he's not….”

 

The older woman gives Mai a sly smile. With a wink, she says. “Don't worry, sweetie. You should claim him. He's good looking, and he's apparently rich. You've got quite the catch.”

 

Mai could only stare at the woman in astonishment. She suddenly envies the woman’s enthusiasm and ignorance. The thought of 'claiming’ Laito sounded so wrong on so many different levels. With a flinch, Mai tries to shove the thoughts out of her head. She had more important things to worry about. After forcing a smile onto her face, Mai says. “Thanks. I will keep that in mind. I think I may have goofed up. You see, I can't find the clothes I came in with. I'm afraid I must have mixed them in with the clothes that I tried on today. I'm very sorry, but could…”

 

The woman let's out a playful scoffing sound. She playfully flicks her hand and happily says, “your boyfriend already paid for your clothing and asked to let you know that he’s waiting for you out front.”

 

She lightly elbows Mai in the side and gives her a sly wink. Her voice is low and suggestive. “How romantic. I bet you are in for quite the night, hm?”

 

Mai’s face flushes, and her head falls in hopes of covering her face. Horror and humiliation at what the woman was implying fills her entire body. She only pulls her face from her hands when she feels the woman tugging at her clothes. Mai turns to find the employee cutting the tags from the outfit. She lets out a chuckle and says, “Have fun at dinner, sweetie. Please come again!”

 

Mai watches the woman spin around, greet someone else, and disappear amongst the racks of clothing. Slowly, she makes her way out of the store. The sunlight hits her eyes at just the right angle to momentarily blind her. She flinches away from it and lifts her hand to shield her eyes. Her heart skips a beat upon realizing that it had taken her almost all day. It had only felt like a couple of hours. Suddenly, the sunlight is blocked out, allowing her to fully open her eyes. Laito smirks down at her, causing her to scowl up at him. He leans too close for comfort, prompting her to take a step back. The sun blinds her again, making her flinch and close her eyes. Irritation builds when she hears him chuckling. She lifts her hand to try to block out the sun and happens to spot the car. She ducks her head and hurries toward it. For once, she is thankful for the tinted windows. It helped to cut down on the amount of light pouring through the windows. Only seconds later, the car is moving.

 

After a few minutes of silence, Mai glances over to see Laito leaning against the opposite door with a bored look. He looked almost like a normal teenager watching the world fly past him. It was unusual for him to be so quiet that it was bordering on the unnerving side of things. Mai’s brain frantically searches for something to say in order to fill the silence, but she couldn’t think of anything worthwhile. Finally, she settles on a subject. “Hey, Laito?”

 

“Hm?”

 

Goosebumps rise along her skin. He didn’t even turn to look at her, and he sounded so disinterested. She immediately considers not saying anything more, but Laito seems to choose that moment to turn his attention back to her. His usually bright green eyes seem slightly dull, and it’s almost like he is not truly there. The question she was going to ask disappears upon seeing that distant look. Despite herself, Mai felt a small tendril of worry in the very bottom pit of her stomach. “Are you ok?”

 

The question was barely audible, but it seemed to be the right thing to do. The dazed look disappears from his face, leaving him with his usual playful look. He scoots across the back seat until his thigh is pressed against hers. She presses herself as tightly against the door as she can. This was the Laito that she knew, and she was regretting pulling him out of his thoughts. His arm loosely wraps around her shoulders. He has a mockingly sweet voice when he coos. “Aw, are you worried about me, Sweetheart?”

 

Mai can’t stop the scoff from leaving her mouth, so she doesn’t even bother to hide the fact that she was rolling her eyes for what felt like the millionth time that day. She shifts her arm so that her elbow is digging into his side. This action seems to just earn a laugh from him. He pulls her even closer, causing her elbow to dig into her side. It wasn’t a horrible pain, but it was enough to keep it at the front of her thoughts. She wiggles a little, but she doesn’t have anyway to put any distance between them. She lets out a frustrated sound from the back of her throat. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the desired effect, since he leans on her even harder, making it feel like she wasn’t going to be able to breath soon. She lets out a gasping sound and says. “It was a mistake.”

 

He lets out a chuckle, and the pressure seems to almost disappear. She didn’t even care that he hadn’t moved away from her. She closes her eyes and lets out a breath of relief, but her eyes snap open when she feels something soft brush her cheek. Red hair fills her vizion, which comes as a surprise. His cold forehead was pressed lightly against her temple. His breath lightly tickled her jaw and upper neck area. It almost felt like he was snuggling her. The second that thought passes through her mind, her entire body begins to tense. He wasn’t a sweet person, despite the way he seemed to be viewed by the female population around him. All of his actions and words were empty. She hears him mention something about being hungry, and her heart starts to race. She didn’t want to get bitten in a moving car that jolted randomly, but she remembered her deal with him. She tries to keep herself from moving by making herself as rigid as she possibly can. The less she moved, the better it would be for her. In fact, she slows her breathing down to slow shallow breaths. Her eyes remain locked with the back of the driver seat in front of her. She jumps when she feels cold fingertips start to run up and down her arm. He was starting to lean on her again, and she wanted nothing more than shove him away from her, but she didn’t dare move any part of her body. Her heart continues to pound loudly in her chest while she silently begs Laito to not drink from her in the backseat of a car. She slowly opens her mouth to ask a random question in order to distract him.

 

“I love you.”

 

She flinches at his words, causing him to pull away. Out of the corner of her eyes, she can see his eyes narrow playfully at her, though she was almost positive that she’d seen a flash of frustration. He leans toward her again, causing the panic to set in again. Frantically, she asks the first thing that comes to her mind. “Does Reiji hate Yui?”

 

Laito lets out a groaning sound, so she cautiously turns to look at him. He was still too close for comfort, but it looked like she had successfully stopped him from biting her. She cringes at the frustratingly amused look on his face. He chuckles and settles back against the seat, though he leaves his arm around her shoulder with his leg against hers. Time seems to slowly tick by, and she was sure they should have made it to her house already. She doesn’t get a chance to dwell on it though. Laito had chosen that moment to finally answer her question. “I wouldn’t say that he hates her.”

 

Mai turns her full attention back to Laito and regards him silently for a moment. That’s when it occurs to her that there was another person that she had been around. She hadn’t given him much thought though, since she hadn’t been near him that long. She mutters softly. “Shuu.”

 

Laito gives her a playfully hurt look. He leans against her even harder than before, causing her elbow to dig into her side again. She lets out a small hiss of pain and tries to shove him away, but he doesn’t move an inch. His free hand touches just above her knee, making her entire body tense up even more. He makes it sound almost like he’s hurt when he says softly. “You are saying another guy’s name while you are sitting beside me. How cruel could you be?”

 

Mai opens her mouth to snap at him that she wasn’t doing anything wrong, but she slams it closed without uttering a single sound. He was drawing lazy circles up her thigh, which she tries to stop by moving her leg away from him.Unfortunately, he doesn’t even seemed fazed by her feeble attempts. She closes her eyes tightly, when she feels his breath brush the rim of her ear. In a rush, she demands. “Get away from me.”

 

Everything seems to freeze for a moment. Just when she considers hoping that he would actually pull away, she feels something cold run along the skin just below her ear. She flinches away, but she ends up banging her head on the window beside her with a loud, sickening crack. Dazed, Mai’s head lulls around for a moment, and she focuses on the closest thing she can think of, which happens to be the headrest for the driver seat. She couldn’t believe how much of a klutz she had been lately. She feels something cold touch her chin and wants to struggle, but she doesn’t even bother trying. It felt like a waste of precious energy that she should be focusing toward straightening out her thoughts. She finds herself staring into mesmerizing, green eyes. He leans forward, pulling her head down. It seemed like he was inspecting the spot she had cracked against the window, but she could never be completely sure when it came to Laito. It’s silent for only a few seconds before he lets out a tsking sound. When he leans closer, she considers asking if he was seriously going to kiss it better like she was some child. She’s provided wrong when something cold runs along the sore spot on her forehead. She flinches at the thought that he was probably licking her, like some kind of animal. Her thoughts were clearing, but her head was pounding, which was making it hard to focus. He pulls away with an almost arrogant look on his face. His voice is playful, but seemingly loud. “You owe me now, Sweetheart.”

 

She tries to snarl at him, but her voice sounded even louder than his, so she just sags back in the seat. Silence settles over them once more, and she lets her eyes drift closed. To her relief, it felt like the headache was starting to ease off. It would only be a few more minutes until she got home, where she could finally relax. Now that her eyes were closed, she could clearly picture the look of disgust on Reiji’s face. Without a second thought, she asks. “Does Reiji really hate Shuu that much?”

 

Laito lets out a sadistic chuckle that sends a shudder racing down her spine. She cautiously opens one eye. He was reclined back and was looking at the ceiling. His voice was just as playful as always, but there was something just under his tone that she couldn’t quite place. “I don’t think that weirdo particularly likes anyone. Shuu is just his favorite chew toy when he is frustrated. Why?”

 

Mai lets her eye drift closed. She briefly wonders when she had started to feel comfortable enough to do that around Laito. With a soft shake of her head, she clears her thoughts. After letting out a slow, steady breath, she opens her eyes once more. Despite her head only lightly throbbing, she still tries to keep her voice down when she says. “Well, he said something about me smelling bad. I asked if it was you, but he said you were at least tolerable.”

 

Laito let's out a dark chuckle, which causes her to look at him. She barely represses the shudder the second she sees a look to match the dark chuckle. His eyes were glowing dangerously, causing Mai to tense to the point of pain. Unconsciously, she balls her fists up until her knuckles turn white. The second that their eyes lock, she finds that she couldn't tear her eyes away from Laito's green gaze. He was leaning closer to her. Her heart was racing in pure terror, but she was unable to move. A look of satisfaction spreads over his face, and he presses a light, almost gentle, kiss to her forehead. The gesture bewilders Mai, and she finds herself with more questions than she thought she would ever have.

 

Almost as if it had never happened, Laito looks away, effectively breaking her thoughts free. She lets out a breath that she didn’t even realize that she had been holding and quickly turns her attention back to the window. Her heart skips a beat when she finds that they are in an unfamiliar neighborhood, but she doesn't get a chance even ask. The car slows before turning into the driveway of an unfamiliar house. Every muscle in Mai’s body feels like it’s about to snap from the tension. She turns to give Laito the best glare she can manage, which he returns with a playful smile. “Where are we?”

 

Unfortunately, she doesn’t get an answer. The door she is pressed against suddenly opens, allowing her to unwillingly exit the car. Her mind goes blank, and she tries to brace herself for the pain of hitting the ground. Surprisingly, a cold hand wraps around her upper arm. In front of her, Laito was watching from the car with a mischievous look. Slowly, her eyes turn upward to meet the eyes of the young looking driver. Her heart skips a beat, and she can feel her face flushing. The driver was the one who had kept her from hitting the ground. Just as she opens her mouth to thank him, an arm wraps around her waist. Her body is jerked into a standing position and pressed against a cold one. A lump forms in her throat, and she forces herself to swallow the growing fear. After working up the courage, she manages to look up at Laito, and she puts her hands against his shoulders and pushes. She didn’t expect him to allow her to push him away, yet she was able to. Suspicion only fuels her fear. Her heart begins to race wildly, and she tries to turn her fear to anger. “Where are we? I want to go home.”

 

“You are home, Sweetheart,” Laito practically purrs. Only moments later, Mai notices movement out of the corner of her eye. Reluctantly, she glances in that direction. To her absolute horror, the driver was carrying multiple bags, with the clothing store’s logo boldly printed on the side, toward the front door. There were so many bags that she was positive that she hadn’t tried on that many clothes. Her gaze snaps back to Laito. It was just the push she needed to turn her fear into anger. She takes a threatening step toward him, but it doesn’t have the desired effect. Instead, he looked more excited than anything. She knows that it should serve as a warning, but her anger was clouding her better judgement. Despite her instincts, she makes a wild gesture toward the driver, who had disappeared into the house and practically snarls. “What is wrong with you people?”

 

“You are going to have to be more specific, because I don’t have any idea what you are talking about, Sweetheart.”

 

It felt like something snaps deep inside her. Her eyes well up with tears, which was making it hard to see his face. Her voice sounds barely unintelligible when she says, “You know exactly what I am talking about. This… this.. You all throw money around like it’s nothing. You live in that big fancy house, so I guess that’s not a surprise, but, you can’t treat people the way you do! You can’t buy my parents off; you can’t buy Yui off. You can’t buy me! I don’t want to go to school with you! I don’t want to be driven! Are you saying this is my house now?! Why did I have to move?! What was wrong with the old one?! I just wanted some peace and quiet! I just wanted a normal life, but you are ruining it! You’re entire family is ruining it! I ha-”

 

She doesn’t get a chance to finish. A hand painfully fists in her hair on the back of her head, and she finds her face buried in a chest. Her entire body tenses even further, but that only lasts a few moments. She closes her eyes and just lets herself cry. She didn’t let believe that he was trying to comfort her, but she still found a small shred of it in his actions. Finally, she pulls herself away from him and turns to look up to the house. A shove from behind gets her on the path toward the house. Her heart sinks with every single step she takes. It only gets worse when she finally steps into the house. It was laid out similar to her old house, only larger. The larger rooms made it feel more open. All of the familiar furniture was set up in the exact same style as before. Slowly, she wanders deeper into the house. It was two levels like before, only her room was no longer upstairs. She had been moved to a bedroom twice the size of her old one, and it was in the back of the house. A chill runs down her spine at the thought that someone had handled her things without her permission. The sight of her room rose a question she didn’t know if she wanted answered. Where had all the new clothes gone? She considers exploring her room in order to find out, but she found that she didn’t have any sort of interest in doing so.

 

She decides to look through the room anyway, since there was two doors. The first one leads to a large walk in closet that took her breath away. A quick glance reveals that her clothes all seemed to be there. The best part was the fact that the second door lead to a small, private bathroom. That brought a smile to her face. Her gaze moves to the large window that showed a beautiful backyard. Her bed sat right under the window, which she wasn’t sure she was happy about.

 

“I see that you like your room.”

 

Mai jumps and spins around to glare at Laito. Thankfully, he was just lounging against the door instead of actually stepping foot inside the room. He flicks his hand up, drawing her attention to the piece of paper clenched between his fingers. He gives her a flirtatious smile and says. “I found this little love note for you on the kitchen table.”

 

A wave of exhausted embarrassment floods through her. She couldn’t believe that she had just cried in front of Laito’s, let alone cried into his chest. She tries to shove the thoughts out of her mind and focuses on the note in his hand. She slowly makes her way over him and holds out her hand with an expectant look on her face. She stubbornly focuses on Laito’s green eyes instead of the fact that she was still shaking. He tilts his head just a little, but the smirk never leaves. Thankfully, he doesn’t say anything when he finally passes the note over to her. She quickly pulls it away before he has a chance to reconsider. She resists the urge to turn her back on him for privacy. To her relief, he makes no attempt to read it. The relief is short lived when the thought of him just opening and reading it passes through her mind. She gives a small shake of her head and focuses on the note.

 

We are getting settled into our new work environment. I just wanted to let you know that we likely won’t be home tonight. We were alerted to the fact that they are moving us to a new house tonight. I’m sure there are snacks, or you can make yourself something. We will talk about what you have agreed to when we get home tomorrow morning.

 

Love you always,  
Mom.

 

Numbness overwhelms all other feelings, making her feel completely empty. Things couldn’t get any worse. Not only did it feel like the whole world was slowly crashing around her, but it felt almost like she had been abandoned when she needed her parents the most. She slowly lifts her gaze up to look around the room. The house felt so cold and uninviting, though she wasn’t sure why. It was nothing more than a house. It wasn’t like she had been opposed to moving before. Her arm drops to her side, and she could feel the paper slipping from between her fingers. She lets her eyes slide closed and focuses on her breathing. “Laito?”

 

After a few seconds of silence, she opens her eyes to find that she is truly alone. Her stomach twists painfully. Hadn’t the woman in the store mentioned something about dinner? Had Laito forgotten? Her gaze flickers back toward her bed. It was so neatly made that it was almost unnatural. She couldn’t remember the last time she had actually made her bed. She slowly makes her way over and rips the top blanket off. After making it into a ball, she quickly leaves the room.

 

She dumps the blanket on the couch and turns on the tv. She flips through Netflix to the anime section before choosing one at random and turning the volume up much higher than she normally would have. She quickly makes her way into the kitchen and begins to rifle through the cupboards for a quick snack around before giving up. She didn’t even have a appetite, nor did she have the energy to try to make something. She simply returns to the couch, crawls under the blanket and numbly watches the anime flash by. Her thoughts kept turning back to her agreement with Tougo, which always led to her crying on Laito’s shoulder. His kindness had felt been unnatural today that she couldn’t help but feel suspicious. With a sigh, she realizes that she wasn’t going to figure anything out by laying on her couch. Maybe he was just having an off day, which had made him nice for a change. The thought of being nice due to a bad day made her chuckle. This was Laito she was talking about, so it was likely that anything was possible. Still, she couldn’t get around the nagging feeling that there was no way that he was being kind due to having an off day. There had to be a reason, but she just couldn’t figure out a valid reason. After considering a few reasons, she settled on the fact that he was either trying to get her to let her guard down, or he was feeling sick.

 

“Do vampires even feel sick?”

 

She flinches. It felt like her question had bounced off the walls around her. She glances around, before the anime makes a loud sound, drawing her attention once more. She decides to actually let herself get absorbed in the anime, instead of worrying about Laito. After watching the main character fumble around a problem for an episode, she realizes something. She could just ignore Laito altogether. All she had to do was finish out her agreement to let him drink from her, then she could completely ignore his existence. She would be careful to not make any more deals with him that would further her sentence. With a deep breath, she closes her eyes. Finishing out her agreement would give her time to carefully observe the others. She would take this time to logically pick someone who was more likely to give her the answers she wanted with the least amount of pain. It would also give her time to convince Yui that she needed to leave their house, despite her feelings for Ayato. She turns the anime down and allows her mind to drift through ways to convince Yui to leave as well as which brother she should observe first. She finally narrows it down to Subaru or Shuu. 

 

It happens so suddenly that Mai doesn’t have a chance to really think things through logically. It starts with feeling like a bucket of ice cold water had been dumped over her. Her eyes snap open, only to find that it’s not only completely dark, but it’s so quiet that she can hear own breathing. In fact, she was positive that she could hear her own heartbeat hammering inside her chest. She didn’t think that she had fallen asleep. She stares at the ceiling wondering if her parents had made it home and turned off the tv. Still, she didn’t think that her parents would leave her on the couch. If they did, they wouldn’t have turned the tv off. She pulls the blanket tighter around her body. Despite the blanket, it still felt like she was in the middle of a winter storm without a jacket on. Had it been this cold when she had fallen asleep?

 

Bang!

 

She didn’t think it was possible to jump as high as she had. She resists the urge to sit straight up on the couch in order to investigate. Instead, she holds her breath and listens. The last thing she needed to do was alert whoever was making the noise to her presence. Another bang has her squeezing her eyes tightly closed. Another bang has her heart either completely stopped or beating so fast that she couldn’t feel it anymore. They all sounded like they were coming from the kitchen. To make matters worse, it felt like she was being strangled by a wreath of ice.

 

The sudden silence that takes over the banging makes her whole body feel like it’s frozen. She hadn't heard anyone leaving, so she could only assume they were still in the house. After several breathless minutes tick by in an agonizingly slow manner without any more noise, she starts to wonder if they had simply slipped back out. Slowly, she lifts herself up to peek over the back of the couch in the direction of the last bang. The second her eyes clear the couch, she stops moving. It was looking into a black hole. She holds her breath and listens for any shuffling or signs that someone was in the kitchen. She desperately wishes that her vision would adjust to the darkness to some degree, but it wasn't. All she could see was darkness, and she didn’t relish the thought of approaching someone that she couldn’t see. A loud bang makes her flatten her body against the couch once more. That bang is followed by the sound of several dishes being smashed. A blood chilling scream stops her heart, and she covers her head with the blanket. Her eyes squeeze shut, and she covers her mouth to try to keep the whimper as quiet as possible. Her free hand slowly reaches toward her pocket in an effort to call 911.

 

“Help…..me…..”

 

Her hand freezes mid way into her pocket, and her eyes snap open. She was positive that was a woman’s voice, and she sounded hurt. Her hands move from her pocket and mouth to cover her ears tightly. She was under the blanket, but it still felt frigid. The cold felt like it was tearing at her skin and sinking deep into her bones, and she had a sinking suspicion that the fear wasn't helping her either. She just wanted this to be a terrible nightmare. She hears the woman moan painfully again. Goosebumps rise all over her body. It was like she wasn’t covering her ears at all. This just makes her press harder against her head. She wanted to make some sort of noise to help drown out the creepy sound, but she didn’t dare make a single sound. Once more, the unseen woman weakly begs for help. Mai’s body curls into a quivering ball and silently begs the woman to leave. She felt like such a coward for not helping the woman, but she didn't know if it was just some trick to see if anyone was home. Besides, she didn't think a teenage girl would be of much use. She had no idea where the light switches were, and she didn’t think fumbling around would be a good idea either. She knew that she should call for help, but the fear coursing through her body kept her frozen in place.

 

Once again, that haunting voice begs. “Please….. I’m…. It hurts…… Please, God, save me.”

 

Tears overflow and stream down Mai’s face. She was sure this was the most terrifying experience in her life. Everything falls silent for several minutes, causing Mai to slowly opens her eyes to stare at the blanket in front of her face. It should have been a relief to no longer hear the woman begging or the banging sound, but it only made her feel like this was the calm before the storm. Slowly, she pulls her hands away from her head and pulls the blanket down until her head is exposed. While keeping a tight grip on the blanket, she listens for any sound. Thankfully, everything is completely silent, but she still doesn't feel any better. Something was very wrong. After convincing herself it'd be for the best, she releases one hand and pulls out her phone.

 

She had just hit the first number when it happens all over again. It starts with a soft click followed by a light from the direction of the kitchen. A blood chilling scream makes her release a soft squeaking sound and hit a bunch of numbers when she jumps. Seconds later, the tv flickers to life, blaring the anime even louder than before. That’s when she realized that the scream had been cut short, though she wasn’t sure if it was truly cut short or just drowned out by the tv. She silently tries to work up the courage to peek over the couch. While she is doing that, she is frantically erasing the extra numbers that she had accidentally hit. Finally, she reasons that the police might ask her if she can see anything from her position. With that in mind, Mai slowly lifts her body to peek over the couch. She could see a large portion of the kitchen from where she was sitting, but she couldn’t see the whole thing. It didn’t look like anything had been disturbed, but she couldn’t be a hundred percent sure. She slowly wipes the tears off of her face, ducks back down and glances at the tv. If someone was in her house, they would have came to investigate the tv suddenly turning on. Why hadn't she thought of that before? She was in danger if she didn't move, but she ran the chance of being in danger if she did move, since it was more likely that she would run into whoever was in her house. Her attention turns back to the phone, and she manages to finally hit the correct emergency numbers. Before she gets a chance to hit the green call button, a creak behind her makes all the blood in her body turn to ice. She releases a whimper before slowly turning to look over the armrest. She fully expected to find someone standing there. Thankfully, she’s alone. Just to be sure no one was in the living room with her, she slowly looks around before once again peeking over the back of the couch.

 

Her relief at finding no one there is short lived. The kitchen was littered with broken dishes that hadn’t been there when she had checked earlier. Pans and silverware was mixed in with the pieces ceramic. Her heart makes a quick climb to her throat, effectively choking her. This wasn't normal. She hadn't heard new banging, and she knew for a fact that the mess hadn’t been there before. Would it be any use calling the police if she was going to be looked at like she was crazy? All thoughts stop the second she sees thick, red liquid seeping from the unseen portion of the kitchen. It made her cringe just thinking about it.

 

It was blood, and a lot of it.

 

Her eye move back to her phone. Even if they thought she was crazy, she still needed to call the police. She hits the button and holds the phone up to her ear. Weight near her feet draws her attention away from the blood. To her horror, a woman was sitting there in a beautiful white gown, only it wasn’t completely white. Red splotches of varied size littered the beautiful piece of cloth in various locations. Her hair looked like it might have been done up in a beautiful twisted half braid, half bun hairdo at one point, but it was no longer that way. Part was dyed that same red as the splotches on her gown, and it was hanging limply beside her face. The woman didn’t even bother turning to look at Mai, who was frozen in terror. She couldn't even respond to the 911 operator. After what felt like hours, the woman started to move. In the slowest manner possible, the woman turns to face Mai, effectively killing any courage left in Mai’s body. Mai is faintly aware of the fact that the phone slips through her fingers, bounces onto her lap before sliding onto the floor with a dull thud.

 

The injured woman’s face had beautiful make up on the side that had been visible to her. The other side sported various cuts, the worst was the cut that started near the center of her throat and worked it’s way up her cheek until it hit her eye. Fresh blood still seemed to pour from her wounds. A tired smile spreads over her face, and she slowly turns her dark gaze back to the anime. Mai was positive that she wasn’t breathing, but it didn’t matter at that moment. She didn't think that anyone could live through losing so much blood. The woman’s lips start to move, but it was like she was lip syncing to whatever the character on the anime was saying.

 

Suddenly, and violently, the woman’s head snaps back to Mai. This time, there were more, and deeper, wounds. Mai wanted to flinch back, but she found herself unable to even breathe. Slowly, the woman’s head tilts, making a horrible, squishing sound when the severed flesh near the neck wound separates. The woman makes a terrible rasping noise, almost like she is drowning on blood. Just as that thought rushes through Mai’s mind, a large trickle of blood runs past the woman’s lips.

 

“Too…..late… You…..were…..warned….” That same haunting voice that was begging for help comes from the woman. She leans toward Mai and says. “You……..are…..doomed.”

 

Every fine hair on her body immediately stands on end. Mai opens her mouth to say something, but the woman begins to flicker in front of her. It was almost like an old movie that was cutting out prematurely. After a few flickers, the woman is suddenly facing the tv again. Her voice sounds more stable, yet it still has some pauses. “You have…...wound yourself too…...deep. You are…….in their…….sights. You…...will….die…… Pretty, pretty princess……”

 

Her head whips back to face Mai. Once more, that squishing sound drives her fear even higher. It’s only made worse by the fact the woman’s eyes are nothing more than dark holes. Tears slowly work their way down the woman’s face that a deep red color, and they leave a trail of blood behind. “He used… to call me that……… Don’t be……..fooled by…..pretty words….. Poor little……..church mouse…….is beyond…..redemption.”

 

Just as suddenly as everything started, it ended, The woman vanishes before her, and warmth floods through her body. It was almost like she had woken up from a terrible nightmare, but she hadn’t moved an inch. She was still staring at the empty space left behind. A sigh causes her to jump and twist around. Her heart gives a painful twist, because she didn’t know what to expect. Upon seeing who it is, she thought that she’d be surprised, but she found herself simply numb. A look of anger filled the red eyes that gazed down at her. Despite him stepping closer and leaning toward her threateningly, she doesn’t feel anything, but a deep, empty void inside her very being. “Humans like you are always so troublesome to deal with. Why can’t you be normal food? Stupid bitch.”

 

“What is going on?” She wasn’t even sure if she had asked that question out loud, because she didn’t even feel herself talking. She was starting to think everything that had happened had been nothing more than a twisted nightmare.

 

“Tsk!” Subaru clicks his tongue. “How pathetic. It’s so easy to break a human mind.”

 

His hand slowly reaches out toward her, but she flinches away and rolls herself off the couch. With a solid thump, she lands face down, but she doesn’t give herself a chance to register the pain. She just scrambles to her feet and quickly scoots away from him. That’s when she realized just how bad she was shaking. She stumbles a few times, due to the shaking in her legs, but she still tries to put on a brave glare when she locks eyes with Subaru. He didn’t look pleased either. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do if he pursued her, nor did she even have the energy to wonder why she was even trying to fight back. She wanted to ask if he had seen what she had seen, but she had a feeling that she wouldn’t get an answer. In fact, she didn't think she could even form a comprehensive question.

 

“It’s all that pervert’s fault. Why did I have to draw the short straw?”

 

A cold hand envelopes her forehead, and an unusual exhaustion takes over her body. She didn’t even try to fight it. Maybe she would just wake up and this would all be a dream.Just as she’s about to give into the welcoming darkness, she hears a rough sigh.

 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Her eyes snap open, and she finds herself stretched out on the couch. She lays there for only a moment before she glances toward the tv. It was barely audible and had switched to a horror anime. She slowly sits up and rubs her eyes. Her mind runs through everything that had happened the night before. As much as she wanted to simply dismiss it as unconsciously hearing the anime, she knew that she couldn’t. This hadn’t been the first time that something had happened, and she now knew that she had to work faster to get answers, or she would lose her sanity. The light clank of a pan rings out, causing her to tense. Was it going to happen all over again? 

 

Cautiously, she shifts to peek over the couch. She tries to remember to keep breathing through the panic. Once she finds that the puddle of blood was gone, she allows herself to feel a small shred of comfort. She flops back onto the couch and silently listens to rhythmic sound of clattering pans. Her body realizes even further when she hears a familiar humming sound. She allows herself to relax against the couch and think about what had happened. The thought of Subaru coming to help her was almost comical, though that feeling is only fleeting. She knew that she had said it many times before, but there was something seriously wrong with her. She feels a shudder run down her spine at the fact that she was sure she was going to have terrible nightmares of the injured woman.

 

With a soft sigh, she forces herself off the couch and slowly makes her way toward the kitchen. Her eyes lock onto the spot she had seen the blood, causing a shudder to run down her spine. She attempts to push the memories from her mind, while she steps into the kitchen. The sight before her causes her to wonder if she’s in a dream again. Her mother was literally dancing around the kitchen like some teenage girl, while she was cooking. She was practically glowing with happiness. In fact, the only thing missing from a complete disney cliche was her mother singing some about how happy she was. A sigh from behind her finally draws her attention. To her surprise, her father was sitting at the table with his head hanging low, This made him appear the complete opposite of her mother. His fingers were interlocked behind his neck, causing his arms to effectively hide his face from her view. Slowly, she glances at her mother before making her way over to the table to sit across from her father.

 

“Ummm…..” That was all she managed to say. She wanted to greet her father with a ‘good morning’ or something, but she couldn’t form any other thought past her mother being in such a strangely happy mood, despite their present circumstances. Thankfully, her father seemed to understand her unspoken question.

 

“I know,” her father mutters. Now that she was closer, she could see how tired he was. Her heart skips a beat, and worry bubbles past the mild amusement at seeing her mother dancing.

 

“Good morning, sweetie!” Her mother practically sings, making both Mai and her father flinch at the same time. Two plates clang loudly against the table in front of them before her mother spins away. A sweet smell starts to waft through the kitchen. Mai’s back straightens, and she inhales deeply before releasing a soft sigh of contentment. It was hard to tell exactly what the sweet smell was due to the overwhelming scent of cooking bacon, but it was helping to ease her mind. Her gaze drifts back to her mom, who was bouncing on her tippy toes in front of the oven like it was Christmas Day. She picks up her silverware and stuffs some breakfast in her mouth in an attempt to hide the smile that was threatening to take over her face. Her gaze slowly moves back to her father, who hadn’t touched his food. With a frown, she softly asks, “Is that… is that cookies that I smell cooking?”

 

A groan leaves her father, and he startles Mai with practically snarling. “Yes. There is already cheesecake, and she mentioned something about either making cake or pie. She has been baking like that for the last few hours.”

 

She swallows the next few bites in silence, though it doesn’t escape her notice that her father had yet to touch his meal. Finally, she asks, “Why didn’t you stop her? Why didn’t you wake me up? What is going on?”

 

“Mai?” Her mother asks softly. Mai flinches and glances toward her mother, who gives her a kind smile. “Eat first. We have a lot to discuss.”

 

Mai glances from her mother to her father pleadingly, but he just gives her a shrug. With a defeated sigh, Mai returns to eating her food. By the time she is done, there is a cake is in the oven, and the dishes are done. Her mother and father sit patiently across the table. An odd silence seems to hang heavy between them for what feels like hours. Finally, her father closes his eyes and clears his throat. “Your mother and I have talked to Mr. Sakamaki. He made us aware of all of everyone’s obligations and expectations.”

 

Her father interlocks his fingers and rests them on the table. He inhales through his nose, then he slowly releases the breath out of his mouth. It was like he was trying to calm himself down, or maybe he was mentally preparing himself for something difficult to talk about. She instantly doubts the latter speculation when her mother’s face breaks into an excited smile. Her hands make a soft noise, when she hits the table palms down. “Oh, Mai! You should see our workplace! It’s just so beautiful! We have state-of-the-art machinery, and we are the lead scientists! We have a team that works just for us! We even get to pick whatever we feel like doing! Oh, Mai, you should see the budget! It’s huge! This whole situation is just so…..so…..!”

 

Mai can’t help but laugh at her mother’s flushed face. It felt like it had been so long since she had seen her mom so happy. It was almost easy to forget about her problems; however, her father’s gloomy look pulls her back to reality. Her eyes meet with her father’s, and the conversation turns to their concerns with her situation.. Mai just shrugged off their concerns with a laugh, saying there was nothing they could do at that point. The conversation comes to an end, when her mother lets out what was likely the hundredth yawn. It didn’t come as a surprise to Mai that her parents would be keeping the Sakamaki schedule by sleeping during the day and working at night. Her mother had previously gotten out the cake during their discussion, so she simply frosts it, gives Mai a kiss on the top of her head, and leaves the room. Mai expected her father to follow, but he didn’t move from the table. The atmosphere seemed to drop a couple of degrees the moment her mother is out of sight.The silence seems to stretch for only a brief moment before he says, “Mai, I want you to be extra careful around those boys. There is something…..off about them.”

 

Mai can only stare at her father astonished silence that quickly turns to relief. He didn’t know the brothers’ true nature, but he also recognized that they weren’t normal. She didn’t know if her father would believe her that they were vampires, but she still felt as if she had a ally on her side. One that she was sure would be difficult for the brothers to handle, even if he was human. She opens her mouth to agree with him, but her father lifts his hand, effectively silencing her. His voice is so low that she has to painfully lean into the table just to hear him. “We were told this neighborhood is full of employees for Sakamaki, so we have to be careful who we trust.”

 

Mai flinches, when she catches onto her father’s unspoken warning. If she wasn’t careful, anything she said or did would be reported back to the brothers, which wouldn’t bode well for her family. Her father silently stands and leaves the room. After he is gone, her gaze drops to her hands. She’d be careful, but she wouldn’t really worry about the neighbors that much, at least not yet.

 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

With a shudder, she follows the driver toward her, likely literal, doom. It was finally time for the Sakamaki family diner that she had been dreading. She straightens the knee length, black skirt that she was wearing. Her shirt was a light blue, button down, and she wore simple flats. She had positive that she would break her ankle or leg if she tried to wear any heels, but her mother hadn’t allowed her to leave in a pair of flip flops. She had firmly said that it would look tacky and ruin the outfit she was wearing.

 

She reaches the door before she feels ready. With a frown on her face, she watches it creak open of it’s own accord. The driver steps to the side and gives her slight bow that he doesn’t straighten from. Red colors her cheeks, prompting her to dip her head and rush inside without looking back. She doesn’t bother to look up while she makes her way in the direction of the cold dining hall. Upon entering, she finally looks up only to find the table completely empty. She pulls out her phone to check the time. She thought it was supposed to start at 6 p.m., but she didn’t see that happening, since it was already 5:45.

 

She jumps when a cold hand presses against her lower back. Her furious gaze turns to meet amused green ones. She attempts to step away, but Laito just wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her flush against him. She glances down at his body, then up at his face once again. Unfortunately, he’s much closer than she would have liked. She wants nothing more than to just turn away, but she had a feeling that he wanted her to struggle. Instead, she chooses to stubbornly keeps her gaze on him with a stern look. The stern look quickly melts away into surprise when a cold finger traces her jaw. His face slowly moves dangerously close. She could feel his cold breath puffing lightly against her face when he whispers. “Looks like my meal has willingly shown up.”

 

Mai uselessly opens and closes her mouth a few times. She wanted to protest, but she couldn’t find the words. He lets out an amused sounding chuckle at the sight. Only seconds later, they are thankfully interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Sending silent thoughts of gratitude their way, she carefully turns her head just enough to see who it was. She was trying not to expose much of her neck to Laito, just in case he decided to follow through with his threat to bite her. Reiji was giving them a stern, yet disinterested look. “Laito, you know such vulgar activities aren’t allowed where we eat.”

 

Laito lets out a soft scoffing noise that sounded much more amused than he had a right to be. “I thought it wasn’t correct manners to eat in your room. She’s food, isn’t she? But if you really have such a problem, I’ll gladly eat in my room.”

 

A smile that can only be described as lecherous, spreads over his face. Mai could feel her heart racing even faster when it takes Reji a moment to answer. Thankfully, he lets out a sigh and says,“You will sit in the fourth chair from the left.”

 

“Ah! That puts her so far away from me!” Laito practically whines. Reiji glances back with a look of disapproval, but he clearly wasn’t going to give Laito the satisfaction of an argument. Mai glances at the table with a confused look for a moment before she figures it out. There was only one chair on an end, so she assumed that the fourth chair on the left was on the same side she had came in on. To her relief, Laito releases a dejected sigh and releases her. She quickly makes her way over to the chair and sits down. The relief continues to grow when she realizes that she was on the opposite side of the table as the redhead. Unfortunately, Laito had been staring at her the whole time, so he had caught her looking in his direction. His response is giving her a wink and a smile. Mai rolls her eyes and turns only to jump upon seeing Shuu sitting directly beside her on the right side. He still had his earbuds in and was resting his elbow on the table with his chin in his hand. His eyes were closed as well. In fact, he seemed to be asleep. Suddenly, she hears Kanato muttering something to his teddy bear about the dinner that was to come. Mai’s gaze turns to look at him. It felt so eerie to have both Kanato and Shuu entering without her hearing a sound, but it still didn’t surprise her. Purple eyes lift to meet hers, and she quickly looks down at the table and closes her eyes. Kanato was like a little kid. She found him to be adorable, but she would rather not gain his attention. Thankfully, he returns to muttering to his teddy bear, but his words are so low that she can’t make out a single word. She releases a slow, soft breath and keeps mentally repeating that it’ll be over before she realizes it. She just had to quickly eat and excuse herself.

 

It’s not long before the chair across from her scrapes along the floor. Mai’s jumps and looks up to find Yui smiling almost nervously at her. Mai returns it with a nervous smile of her own before she realizes something. Her face was flushed, almost like she was embarrassed. There were small beads of sweat along, and her hair was messy. Mai’s eyes narrow, and she opens her mouth to ask Yui if she was ok when a smug looking Ayato seems to materialize beside Yui. A scoff beside her momentarily distracts Mai. One of Shuu’s eyes was open, and, thankfully, his attention was in the direction of Yui. Before Mai has a chance to glance at her friend, Reiji announces that it is time begin,. Multiple plates of delicious food is placed around the table from previously unseen servers. The smell alone causes Mai’s stomach to growl. She hears a chuckle beside her and casts a glance in that direction, but it looked like Shuu had fallen asleep once more. Mai simply frowns at him before she turns her gaze back to the mouth watering food. A large helping of seafood pasta was the theme. There was multiple vegetables, dipping sauces and sides sitting in dishes around the main dishes. Mai closes her eyes for a moment just to savor the scent of the food before she begins to eat.

 

She barely represses the groan of pleasure upon the first bite. Unfortunately, she only gets five or six more bites in before something strange grabs her attention. There was absolutely no noise at all. She glances around to find that everyone aside from Shuu and Ayato was eating without making a sound or saying a word. In fact, no one was even looking at each other. When her gaze lands on Yui, the blonde seems to sense her gaze. She glances up and offers Mai a nervous smile once again. Softly, Yui says, “The food here is good, huh?”

 

Mai mutely nods. She wasn’t sure what else to do. It wasn’t like she could ask Yui why everyone was so quiet, since that would be embarrassing and asking for trouble from someone like Ayato or Laito. The silence wasn’t the problem. It felt like there was hostility hiding beneath the surface. Thankfully, Yui continues to talk. “Reiji usually makes the food.”

 

The atmosphere seems to grow even colder with those words. Yui flinches and pales slightly, causing Mai to glance around the room. With a clatter, Ayato shoves the food away and lets out a content sigh. “I’m full.”

 

It doesn’t escape Mai’s notice that Ayato hadn’t touched a single thing on his plate. A sigh could be heard from Reiji’s direction. “I told you not to spoil your appetite before these dinners, Ayato.”

 

Ayato scoffs. “She was begging me to drink her blood, while she screamed my name!”

 

Mai wasn’t the only one mortified by what Ayato had said; she was just the only one to drop her silverware. The sound was drowned out by Yui’s horrified voice calling Ayato’s name, which only makes things worse in Mai’s mind. She is faintly aware of Reiji informing Ayato not to imply improper things at the dinner table, but she was distracted by the low voice muttering in her ear. “If you allow so much blood to rush to your face, you are asking for trouble.”

 

Slamming her hands against the table in order to shove the chair backwards, Mai abruptly stands up. Unfortunately, it draws everyone’s attention to her. For a breathless moment, she’s unsure what to do. She had acted without thinking, but she finally forces out. “I’m…. I’m going home! Thank you for the food, but I’m not feeling the best.”

 

She turns and quickly rushes out of the room. She never wanted to return to another dinner with them. With a shudder, she knew that what she wanted and reality would never coincide with each other. It comes as a surprise that the door creaks opens for her. The driver was right where she had left him, but she didn’t even show him any attention as she passes. Her mind kept turning over the deal she had made. There had to be a loophole somewhere, right?

 

All she could do was hope that she could find one.

 

________________________________________________________________________

 

Her feet literally drag along the floor of the school. It had been a couple of weeks since the dinner. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been able to join her old class with Yui, but, thankfully, she wasn’t in any classes with Laito either. She flops down at her desk and lets her head fall rest on the cool desktop. She closes her eyes and releases a sigh of pure exhaustion. Lately, her mother had been so energetic that it was starting to wear Mai out. Despite having attended the school not long ago, she was still treated like a new student. On top of it all, she hadn’t been able to make any new friends. It seemed like every time she tried talking to someone, they would coldly shun her. She assumed it was due to the Sakamaki’s, but she wasn’t a hundred percent sure.

 

The cool desktop felt good against her warm face. She was thankful that she had returned just before winter break was going to start. Just as she starts to doze off, students start to trickle in. Her eyes slowly open to stare blankly at the wall. She thought that arriving early would be worse than it actually was. At least, she finally had time to pick up reading again, since she didn’t have time after school. She cringes at the memory of her tutor. He had appeared only minutes after she had gotten home from school, and he had proceeded to lecture her till almost noon. One time, she had almost overslept, but the silent driver literally flipped the mattress she was sleeping on. Unfortunately, her head had struck the nightstand on her way down. That same day, she had been called to the nurse’s office and forced to explain the large bruise that covered most of her forehead. It was just one of many humiliating experiences that she had found herself in. In fact, the bruise was still healing.

 

Her thoughts are pulled back to the present when a hand slams onto the desk only inches from her nose. With a sigh, she slowly sits up and fixes a glare on Ayato, who leans closer. To her surprise, he whispers, “Get off your ass and follow me.”

 

With a scoff, she folds her arms over her desk and buries her face into them. Just before the bell to start class rings, cold fingers wrap around and grip her upper arm in a bone crushing grip. She lets out a soft sound of pain and tries to remain sitting in the seat by using her free hand to grab the edge of the desk. She should have known that wouldn’t stop Ayato. It just causes her to flip the desk and draw the attention of every single person in the room, even the strangely silent teacher. This seemed to be the moment that Ayato was waiting for. With a sharp tug, he has her stumbling after him. She doesn’t try to pull away until they are safely in the hallway. Once there, she leans back and literally digs her heels in. She snarls. “What is wrong with you? Don’t you feel any sort of embarrassment?” 

 

Unfortunately, she doesn’t get any answer. The hallways spins sickeningly, and her stomach twists painful. A hand slams over her mouth in an effort to keep from throwing up the pancakes her mother had practically forced her to eat right before school. She hunches over and tries to focus on her breathing instead of the nauseous feeling her stomach. She’s silently thankful that Ayato had released her some time after he had ported them. Finally, everything seems to calm down, and she discovers that she is standing in the dead center of Yui’s room. Mai casts a curious glance at Ayato before labored breathing draws her attention toward the large pink bed.

 

She slowly approaches the bed to see Yui covered in sweat, shaking and pale. It was obvious that she was sleeping, but she wasn’t sleeping well. Concern coats Mai’s mouth in a sour taste, and her gaze snaps to Ayato, who simply shrugs at her. He states coldly. “Fix her.”

 

Mai clenches her fists tightly, wanting nothing more than to punch him in the face. Thankfully, she’s able to resist the urge and turns to look at Yui again. “What’s wrong with her?”

 

“I don’t have time to waste with you’re stupid questions,” Ayato practically sneers at her. She promptly flips him off, which she regrets seconds later when he appears beside her. She turns to snap at him, but a soft voice interrupts her.

 

“Ayato.”

 

Both freeze almost instantly. Mai had a look of shock on her face, while Ayato looked mildly curious. Mai turns her attention back to Yui. With a sigh, Mai reaches out to press her wrist against Yui’s forehead. It doesn’t come as a shock to feel that her friend is warmer than normal. She turns her gaze to Ayato, who glances away from the blonde for only a moment to say, “She was complaining that her body hurt all over last night, and she didn’t eat much either.”

 

Mai rolls her eyes, but she choses not to say anything. If she looked very close, she could almost convince herself that Ayato cared about her friend. She glances down at Yui only to meet tired red eyes. Mai has to give her credit for trying to smile and sit up. She coughs for a moment and says. “It’s ok. It’s just the flu.”

 

Mai simply returns the smile and says, “Well, don’t worry about. You just had the big, scary vampire worried.”

 

“Shut up, bitch! Yours Truly doesn’t worry about anyone but himself.” Ayato snaps loudly. Both girls share a knowing glance that causes them both to laugh, much to the irritation of Ayato.

 

“Did you know what was wrong with her?” Mai asks. She couldn’t resist this golden opportunity to tease the red head about something he didn’t seem to have a lot of knowledge in. Ayato scoffs arrogantly.

 

“Of course I knew what’s wrong with her! Why do you think I came to get you? The flu is disgusting. You’ll be taking care of it.”

 

“You don’t deal with illness often, do you?” His shrug frustrates her, but she decides to ignore it. She didn’t think that vampires could even get sick, and no one seemed to be the nurturing type. With a defeated sigh, Mai simply decides to accept the role she had been given. Hopefully, she wouldn’t come down with the flu next. “Look, all she needs is rest and food, even if she says she isn’t hungry. My mom always gave me broth or chicken noodle soup.”

 

Ayato gives her an expectant glare. The two of them end up glaring at each other before Mai finally gives in. “Fine! I’ll take care of her.”

 

She glances down to find that Yui had fallen asleep at some point. She turns to look at Ayato only to find a mischievous look on his face. Before she can retort, his finger comes out to poke her still painful bruise. She lets out a startled cry and swats at him, though she didn’t connect. With a jolt, she realizes that she didn’t actually intend to hit him. It was almost like she was joking with a friend.

 

That thought alone was enough to make her cringe. Before she realizes it he was walking toward the door. He says smugly, “I only brought you here to watch her while I’m away getting the shit to make my food taste good again. I don’t want her to die from loneliness!”

 

Mai can’t help but roll her eyes. Ayato was arrogant and rude, but she didn’t think he was as bad as he made himself out to be. With a startled jolt, Mai pushes those thoughts to the back of her mind beside the fact that she had just thought of him as a friend. She mutters to herself all the things he had done while she moves to sit next to Yui on the bed. While she was looking at Yui toss and turn, she didn’t really see the blonde. Instead, she was digging through her mind for the exact moment that she had even considered Ayato to be a friend. One word pulls Mai from her thoughts.

 

“Father.”

 

Sympathy immediately rips through Mai’s chest. Her gaze becomes focused once more. She turns her undivided attention toward the sick girl. It had occurred in the back of her mind before, but it was painfully obvious now. Yui had no one that she could depend on in this sick, twisted house that she was living in, at least not until Mai had shown up. Still, Mai wasn’t really there to protect her. With a sigh, Mai closes her eyes. She couldn’t imagine what it’d be like to live with the brothers alone. Respect for her friend becomes even stronger. At first glance, it might seem like Yui was foolish for some of the choices she made, but Mai had found that there was a much deeper reason behind her choices. Yui was only trying to save her own life, no matter the cost, and she didn’t see anyone around that could actually help her. The brothers were scary and seemed almost overly powerful, especially to a normal, sheltered, high school girl. Mai finds herself wondering what she would do different. There was a few places that she was positive she would have changed, but she was silently grateful that she never would have to. The sound of the door opening is the only warning she gets before Ayato appears before her. He shoves the two cans he is hold into her stomach and slides past her.

 

“Make yourself useful “ he says but his voice sounded different. She couldn’t figure out why though. With a shake of her head, she quickly moves to the door. Just as she is about to leave, she hears a soft voice saying.

 

“Thank you.”

 

She glances back in pure shock. It didn’t sound like Yui’s voice, so she could only assume that it was Ayato. She stares at him for a moment, but he had taken more interest in a book beside Yui’s bed. Mai’s eyes narrow for a moment, since the book looked suspiciously like a diary. Unable to just stand by and allow her friend’s privacy to be invaded, she asks,“Did you say something?”

 

Ayato’s gives her the finger, but he continues to stare down at the little book. “Yeah, I said to hurry your ass up with that nasty ass food.”

 

Mai lets out a sigh, suddenly too tired to argue with the red head. She softly closes the door just as Yui wakes up again and makes her way down the eerie hallway in the direction of the kitchen. She was silently hoping that they had a microwave, but she didn’t put much hope into her luck at that point. If there wasn’t, she would just have to figure something out. After all, she was probably the only one who had dealt with the flu in the house aside from Yui. With a sigh, she wonders just how long the night was going to be.

 

At least she got out of school. Perhaps she could get away from her tutor from hell, too. That thought brought a smile to her face. She didn’t believe that would happen, but she could dream.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter!

This was just like her luck. There wasn’t a single microwave in sight, which crushes any hope of getting the soup heated fast. She finds herself rooted for a few minutes before she sighs and makes her way to the counter, where she sets the can down. She closes her eyes and takes a slow breath. She would have to find not only a bowl and a pot, but she would have to find a can opener, too. Of course Ayato had to get a can that didn’t have the easy open option. With a sigh, she opens her eyes and gets to work. She finds the bowl first, which is shortly followed by a pan. The can opener is trickier to find, but she finally manages to do so, after digging through most of the seemingly endless drawers in the kitchen. Before long, she is warming the soup up in the pan.

 

That’s where time seems to drag by, but it’s finally done. Once it’s in the bowl, Mai sets about searching for a spoon. How had she managed to forget that? She had just opened an unexplored drawer when something heavy leans against her from behind, causing her body to stumble forward. Unintentionally, her body closes the drawer, and she awkwardly leans over the counter. She lets out a soft grunting noise before glancing over her shoulder. A shock of blonde hair fills her vision.

 

“Yui?”

 

She it was stupid to think it was her friend, since the blonde was clearly heavier than her friend. A scoff cements the fact that it wasn’t her friend at all. Every muscle tenses, and she tries to shove against his weight, but she isn’t even able to move him an inch. Her breath catches in her throat, and she desperately hopes he doesn’t try to bite her. The seconds tick by for what feels like hours. Finally, a soft, barely audible, voice asks, “Do you have to be so loud?”

 

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Mai breathlessly responds. Just as suddenly as it appeared, the weight disappears. Mai breathes a soft sigh of relief, and she quickly spins to face him. She fully expected Shuu to be only inches from her, but he was sitting across the room on the floor. Still tense, Mai watches him for any signs of movement. It quickly becomes apparent that he had likely fallen asleep again. With a sigh of relief, she quickly starts to search for the spoon again, though she’s careful to look over her shoulder at him every few seconds. Luckily, she manages to find it without much difficulty. She scoops the bowl up and makes her way to the door. Just as she’s about to leave, a wave of guilt washes over her. She glances down at Shuu, silently wondering if she should atleast try to wake him up before she left. Her gaze shifts from the lazy blonde to the soup in her hand. Yui needed the food more than Shuu needed to wake up, and there wasn’t a guarantee that he would even move. Besides, why should she care where he slept? With a wince, she realizes that Yui’s constant worry over the blonde was starting to rub off on her. She casts one more glance at Shuu before she decides to take the cooling soup to Yui and return. If he was still there, she would attempt to wake him up. With that in mind, she quickly returns to Yui’s room. Thankfully, Ayato was gone when she returns.

 

After some coaxing, she manages to get the blonde to eat. Upon seeing how pale and out of it Yui seemed, Mai decides to keep what had happened with Shuu quiet. The last thing she wanted was her friend pushing herself too far by trying to help her. Once she is done eating, Mai collects the dishes and quietly slips out of the room. Before she is fully out the door, she glances back to find that Yui had already slipped back to sleep. In an effort to keep it that way, she quietly shuts the door and quickly makes her way toward the kitchen.

 

To her utter dismay, Shuu is right where she left him when she returns. She sets the bowl in the sink along with the now cooled pan and runs water over both to rinse the excess sauce off. It takes a few minutes to find the dish soap, something to clean with, and a towel to dry with, but she finally manages to clean and return everything to where she found it. Once that is done, she turns to observe Shuu. She wasn’t quite sure how being so slumped over was comfortable enough to sleep, but he was managing it somehow. With a sigh, she moves to squat in front of him. A devious smile spreads over her face, and she considers reaching out to repeatedly poke him in the cheek to wake him up. In fact, she lifts her hand to do just that when she gives the plan more thought. The more she actually thought about it, the more she realized that it likely wouldn’t work. Her eyes roam over his face for a moment before they narrow in on his hair. She couldn’t stop the smile from spreading over her face, and she reaches out to grab a small bit between her thumb and index finger. It didn’t come as a surprise that it was soft, since she figured all the brothers were well groomed.

 

She lightly tugs on his hair a couple times. She made sure it wasn’t enough to hurt, but it was enough to be annoying. Sadly, it doesn’t seem to be affecting the vampire, or, the more likely scenario, he was simply ignoring her. Either way, it was ruining her plan to actually get the lazy Shuu moving. With a sigh, she starts to pull her hand away. Suddenly, something cold warps around her hand and pulls it back. Her entire body tenses to keep from following her hand, so she ends up leaning awkwardly closer to Shuu than she’d like to be. Her eyes widen in disbelief when Shuu lifts her hand up to lightly press against his cheek. His voice is so low that she could barely hear it over her racing heart. “You have spent too much time around those triplets.” 

 

She knew he wasn’t trying to be romantic in anyway, and those words only cemented the fact that she was in danger. Still, her breath catches in her throat, and she finds herself unable to move for a few seconds. He chuckles softly, and his eyes open to meet hers. Her heart stops completely upon seeing that his eyes are glowing an eerily beautiful blue color. His voice sounds amused when he says, “I believe you owe me.”

 

Upon hearing those words, her senses return, and she gives a sharp tug on her hand. She attempts to protest by saying, “Wait, Shuu!”

 

It was too late at that point, since Shuu had turned his head just enough that his lips brush over her wrist. She only has time to suck in a sharp breath before the pain races up her arm. She grits her teeth and immediately stops trying to pull her hand away. The minute she does, something strange happens to her body. It suddenly feels warmer than normal, making Shuu’s hand and lips feel even colder than before. That wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was the strangely pleasant feeling that was slowly working up her arm.

 

She silently takes that back. The worst sound was hearing him swallow her blood. Thankfully, the situation only lasts a few moments. She feels Shuu pull his mouth away from her wrist. That’s when she realizes that she had closed her eyes at some point. She slowly opens them to find that he was looking in her direction with a small smirk on his face. “Ah, perverted little human. You are finding enjoyment in this.”

 

Mai’s eyes widen, and she tugs on her arm once again. She fully expected him to keep a hold of her hand, so she wasn’t prepared to catch herself the second he let go. She tumbles back onto her butt, but she doesn’t let it bother her. She just uses her hands and feet to push her further away from the blonde, who slowly runs his tongue along his lips to catch any stray drops of blood.

 

“You’re blushing.”

 

Mai stops moving away and reaches up to cover her cheeks with her hands. Childishly, she snaps. “I am not!”

 

The chuckle just makes her face burn even more. She wants to look away in embarrassment, but her body wouldn’t. The last thing she needed was to look away from the predator sitting in front of her. Deciding to turn the conversation away from her flushed face, she says, “Why did you bite me?”

 

“We had a deal that you ran out on,” he practically sighs. His body relaxes, and his eyes close once more. Mai narrows her eyes, silently reminding herself to never underestimate him due to laziness again.

 

“Why aren’t you in school?” She wanted nothing more than to just let him go to sleep, and she wasn’t sure why she was trying to have a conversation with him. She figured it was due to the fact that she was trying to work up the courage to tell him that she hadn’t been enjoying his bite. She attempts to distract herself by shifting into a more comfortable position.

 

He releases a drawn out sigh. “Too troublesome.”

 

Mai can’t help but stare at him in disbelief. He must have sensed her staring, since he slowly opens his eyes again. Mai can’t help but take a deep breath and shake her head. She honestly should have known better, since this wasn’t the first time she had dealt with him. She tenses when he shifts, which seems to amuse him even more. Thankfully, his smirk is short lived. The silence seems to last for a few minutes before he closes his eyes once more.

 

“You reek of two of the triplets.”

 

Mai’s can’t help but roll her eyes. She pulls her knees up and begins to wrap her arms around them when she notices something on her arm. To her horror, there was smeared blood on her wrist where Shuu had bitten her. She quickly scrambles to her feet and moves over to the sink to wash the blood off. Once she is done, she turns to face Shuu. It shouldn’t, but it comes as a surprise to find him still sitting in the exact same position. Slowly, she makes her way back to where she was sitting before.

 

“You really should choose better underwear if you plan to flash them,” Shuu mutters. Humiliated and confused, Mai can only stare at him. He chuckles and shifts in order to sit up a little more. Mai tenses when she sees him moving. “You are wearing a skirt.”

 

Her eyes widen, and she looks down. She wasn’t sure how, but she had completely forgotten that she was still in her school uniform. She had her knees bent so she could wrap her arms around her legs. This hiked her skirt more than she would have liked. With a gasp, she quickly adjusts her sitting, so she is resting on her knees. Still, Shuu’s chuckling only makes it worse. She fights the urge to just run away, since she felt Shuu would use it as an excuse to tease her further. Desperate to change the subject, Mai asks. “Do you know what seeing a woman in white would mean?”

 

He releases a sigh and closes his eyes. “I’m tired.”

 

Frustration builds in her chest, but she tries to keep it out of her voice. Unfortunately, she’s not able to. “Are you seriously planning to sleep right there?”

 

“Hm.” That is the only response she gets from him before he seems to drift back off. She clenches her fists and abruptly stands up. She could find something more productive to do than deal with him. She tells herself that it didn’t matter what he thought of her anyway. She starts toward the door, but she is stopped by the sound of his voice. “Why aren’t you in school?”

 

She had only been a few more steps from leaving the room when she stops. The question takes her by surprise, since he sounded genuinely curious. She glances over her shoulder to see that he was watching her with an apathetic look. She finds herself searching his eyes and face for confirmation of her suspicions. Unfortunately, she doesn’t find any. With a sigh, she assumes that she must have just heard something that wasn’t there. She coldly states, “Yui isn’t feeling well, so Ayato dragged me here to look after her. Speaking of which, I need to go check on her.”

 

She tenses when he scoffs. She silently waits to see if he had anything else to say, but it was becoming apparent that he wasn’t going to. Just as she turns to leave again, he says. “Ayato is with her.”

 

She pauses mid-step. All sorts of thoughts flood her, and before she knows it, she is making her way back to Shuu with an important question in mind. She kneels just out of arm’s reach with a serious look on her face. He had relaxed against the wall once again, but she had already decided that she was going to bother him until he answered her question. She doesn’t bother waiting to see if he was still awake or not, she simply asks her question. “Does Ayato love Yui?”

 

The silence felt incredibly heavy after her question. Shuu showed no signs of answering, but she wasn’t going to give in so easily. She slowly clenches her fists and scoots closer to Shuu. “Shuu.”

 

He still remains silent. Against her better judgement, she crawls even closer to the blonde. Despite her pounding her heart, she reaches out to lightly shakes his shoulder before she jerks away. To her utter frustration, nothing happens. She quickly reaches out to shake him a little harder this time, and she jerks her hand back once she is done. This time she earns a sigh. Satisfaction rushes through her veins at seeing his blue eyes once more. The second his eyes start to close again, she narrows her eyes, and she puts an expectant look on her face. The satisfaction quickly wears off when he proceeds to just close his eyes. She felt like pulling her hair out. How could someone be so lazy?! He couldn’t even answer questions properly! With anger coursing through her veins, she reaches out to shake him once more, but his cold hand wraps around her elbow. With a sharp tug, she is dragged toward him. She uses her other hand to brace herself. Her heart races, and she finds her face only inches away from his. He lets out a soft chuckle, and his voice is low, “Why haven’t you asked him yet? Are you afraid?”

 

She stubbornly shakes her head, but she didn’t dare say anything, since she knew it would come out as a squeak. She didn’t want to let him know just how much he scared her. His grip becomes painfully tight on her arm, but his face still looked amused. “Do you think he is capable of loving her?”

 

“I….I don’t know.” Mai wanted to sound strong, but she barely got those words out. She could feel herself shaking, but she didn’t even try to stop herself from doing so. Now that she thought about it, there wasn’t a point in doing so. He could probably hear how loud her heart was pounding, and it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. She didn’t even try to fight against him, and she wasn’t sure why. She found that all she could was stare at him. To her absolute horror, his face starts to swim. She desperately fights the tears, since she didn’t want to cry in front of him. She hears a sigh, and the grip on her arm loosens. Allowing her to jerk her body away from him. She quickly moves to the opposite side of the kitchen. What was wrong with her? When did she turn into such a crybaby? She could still feel her body shaking, so she wraps her arms around her abdomen and stares at her feet.

 

“She belongs to Ayato. It isn’t about love.” Shock runs through her body, and her watery gaze snaps up to look at Shuu in disbelief. Despite the fact that she was still fighting the tears, she feels a few escape down her cheeks, which she quickly wipes away.

 

“How can you say that?” She snaps, thankfully sounding stronger than she felt. “That’s not fair to her. She is a human not an object, and she has the right to pick whoever she wants to be with! She deserves to find love!”

 

He scoffs and shifts once again. His hand reaches up to press against the music player attached to his neck. She grits her teeth and barely keeps herself from storming over to him. Just as she is about to lose her self control, he says softly. “I haven’t seen him treating anyone the way he treats her.”

 

She narrows her eyes at him. Was that his roundabout way of saying that Ayato did have feelings for her? Could she even trust his word? He seemed to be sleeping every time she saw him, so how much could he actually know? Still, at least he had answered her question. She lets the silence stretch on a bit more while she works on her frustration. She finally settles on a question and asks softly. “Does she have to die?”

 

She silently hopes that he answers this question, too. It takes a few minutes before he finally does, but she was willing to wait. His voice is so soft that she wonders if he was drifting off to sleep again. “The process has already started. Whether she lives or dies is entirely up to her.”

 

Dissatisfaction fills her chest, but she tries to keep it from overwhelming her. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get a chance to ask anything else, since Ayato appears in the doorway. He barely spares a glance at his older brother before his green eyes lock onto Mai. She couldn’t stop herself from tensing up when he makes his way toward her. His voice is cold when he says, “she’s throwing up. Go take care of her.”

 

Mai grits her teeth, but she bites back the cold retort. She casts a glance at the now sleeping Shuu and quickly makes her way out. Yui needed her more than she needed answers. Though she had to admit, she wasn’t relishing the thought of being in the same room as Yui, while she was throwing up.

 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Thankfully, Yui only had the twenty four hour flu, so she felt better the next night. Reiji had caught Mai on her way to shower and had informed her that she would be punished for skipping class the night before. He had also informed her that he had called her parents and informed them that she was at their manor in a study session with Yui, but she had lost track of time. She hadn’t paid much attention to what he saying due to the fact that she had been feeling warmer than normal, since she had woken up. Once he excuses her, she quickly showers and follows Yui down to the limo. She was vaguely aware that Laito was saying something outside the limo, but she didn’t really pay attention to it. She had simply leaned onto Yui and closed her eyes, intent on falling asleep. Something brushing her side causes her to open her eyes, but, before she gets the chance to see what it was, she is shoved, prompting her scoot closer to Yui. She lifts her head to look at a frustrated Subaru. She rolls her eyes and shifts her body into a more comfortable position before proceeding to doze back off. 

 

Once she gets to school, she quickly hurries away from the brothers and Yui. She takes off the jacket of her uniform and rolls up her sleeves. She flinches when she realizes that she had probably gotten sick from being around Yui the day before. In addition to feeling warmer than normal, her body felt stiffer than normal, though she figured that it was due to sleeping on the couch in Yui’s room.

 

“Miss Mai!” A hand lands on her shoulder causing her to jump and spin around. Wide eyed and pale, she stares at a horrified school nurse. Trying to hide her blunder, the nurse smiles at Mai. She gestures toward her office and says. “You don’t look well. Maybe you should come lay down before classes start.”

 

Mai tiredly shakes her head and says, “I don’t want to get in even more trouble than I already am. I’m just going to go to class.”

 

“Mai,” the nurse says. She reaches out to put a hand on Mai’s shoulder. That’s when she realized that the students around her was whispering and stealing glances in her direction. With a frown, she tries to figure out what was going on. A sense of dread was starting to build. Thankfully, the nurse drags her attention back with a stern voice. “Perhaps you should come lay down. There is someone who wanted to talk to you before school.”

 

It takes a moment for her brain to figure out why her heart was racing. Once she does, her heart skips a beat. There was a caseworker who was supposed to follow up with her today concerning the bruise on her forehead. To her horror, she realizes just how bad her comment had sounded. She ducks her head and quickly makes her way to the nurse’s office with the nurse trailing behind her. Upon entering the room, she notices that it’s empty aside from one woman, who was sitting in front of the nurse’s desk. She was dressed in a flowing white skirt and a white button up shirt. Her dark hair was pulled up in a loose bun. She smiles upon seeing Mai, but she remains sitting. The nurse shuts the door the moment she enters. Mai glances back nervously, but the caseworker draws her attention with a kind greeting. Mai only gets the chance to return it, before the nurse quickly tells the woman what Mai had said.

 

Fighting the mounting horror in her stomach, Mai quickly says, “Wait. That came out worse than I meant it to be. I just forgot I had an interview today,”

 

“Sweetie, you don’t have to make excuses. Remember, you are safe here. Why don’t you sit down, and we will just talk,” the woman pleasantly says. Mai gives her a nervous glance, but she does what is asked of her. Once she is sat down in an uncomfortable chair a few feet away, the woman retrieves a pen and clipboard from a briefcase on the nurse’s desk. She turns her full attention onto Mai and smiles. “Well, my dear, shall we talk about the new bruise?”

 

“What?” Mai can’t help but be confused by the question. The woman gives her a sympathetic look and gestures to Mai’s arm. She glances down only to stare in horror. Shuu had left a hand shaped bruise just above her elbow. She reaches up to grab her sleeve and pulls it over the bruise. Her gaze snaps up to see a look of sympathy still on the woman’s face. “That isn’t my parent’s hand print. I live in a loving home, and I have a great relationship with my parents. They would never do any to hurt me!”

 

Her head gives a painful throb at the sound of her own voice, making her feel sick to her stomach. She is vaguely aware of the woman saying something to her, but she didn’t hear a single word. All Mai could think about was how tired she was becoming. An annoying tickle starts in the back of her throat, and she suddenly feels like she is going to throw up. She leaps to her feet, but she didn’t have to go far. A small bag appears before her face, and she doesn’t think twice about grabbing it and emptying her already empty stomach. She sinks back into the chair, and she closes her eyes as exhaustion starts to take over. She could faintly hear the nurse prompting her to open her mouth. She does, which is followed by something being pressed under her tongue. She doesn’t need to be told to close her mouth, since she figured that the nurse was taking her temperature. She could hear the women talking and uses that as a focus.

 

“She’s sick.”

 

“I still need to find out where those bruises come from.”

 

“She isn’t going to be giving you anything useful this way. Listen, there are quite a few students sick with the flu. It’s nothing serious, so I recommend you try coming back another time,” the nurse argues. Before the case worker gets a chance to respond, the door opens. Mai flinches once she sees a familiar red head stepping in. He makes his way over to Mai, despite the cold look she is giving him. He leans down to gently brush his lips against her temple, causing her to flinch away from him with a soft snarl. The case worker clears her throat, drawing the amused green gaze away from Mai.

 

“Who are you?” she asks, sounding stern.

 

“Ah, hello there, beautiful,” Laito coos. He steps toward her and scoops up her hand. His lips brush across the back of her knuckles before casting her a charming smile. “It’s rare to see someone so beautiful at our school. I’m sorry I didn’t greet you sooner.”

 

Mai suddenly feels even sicker to her stomach, A light blush creeps across the woman’s face before she pulls her hand away with a stern look. “While I appreciate your compliments, we are in the middle of something important. If you are not sick, please leave us in peace.”

 

Laito gives her a feigned look of hurt. He clears his throat and says, “I would love to allow you to continue, but I’m sorry that I can’t. You see, I asked her to help out my family’s house guest last night, and she, unfortunately, seems to have caught the flu.”

 

He, once again, steps back over to stand beside to Mai. Despite herself, she lets out a soft breath of relief, silently thankful that Laito seemed to be helping her. The woman glances between the two of them with a suspicious look on her face. She opens her mouth, likely to protest but Laito cuts her off by saying. “Ah, you are worried about the bruise on her arm?”

 

The caseworker’s mouth snaps shut, and she simply nods mutely. Laito leans down to press he wonderfully cool cheek against Mai’s. She closes her eyes and lets out a slow breath. She didn’t think that she would ever get used to his cold body, but she was relishing it at the moment. His next words cause her eyes to snap open. “Ah, that was my fault.”

 

Her eyes meet mortified faces that mirror the feelings deep inside her stomach. She pulls away from Laito in order to turn her flushed, but mortified face on him. His green eyes are full of mischief when his gaze locks with hers. She slowly starts to shake her head, but this just makes him smirk at her. Dread fills her chest and stomach, and she tries to protest. “That’s a li-”

 

He clicks his tongue and turns an apologetic look on the woman. He practically purrs, “I get a little rough sometimes, but I promise I don’t mean any harm. My sweetheart here keeps it quiet though, since she knows that it’ll embarrass me.”

 

His arm wraps around Mai’s shoulders, pulling her against him. Every muscle in her body tenses, and her gaze snaps back to the woman to find she was nervously writing on the clipboard. She was about to deny everything that Laito had just said, but she is distracted by the fact that she could see the woman’s hands shaking. She closes her eyes hoping this was just a feverish dream that she was having. The second she hears Laito’s voice, she considers elbowing him. “I promise you that she was telling the truth. Her parents do love her very much. They are doing the best they can. If you still have doubts, you can talk to my father. He works closely with them, and I’m sure he would have no problem vouching for them.”

 

Mai turns her gaze just enough to see Laito out of the corner of her eye. He was still giving a charming, yet seemingly sincere, smile to the woman. Mai reluctantly turns her gaze back to the caseworker, who looked like she was very lightly blushing while regarding Laito. The uncomfortable silence was making it harder and harder for Mai to breath. Finally, the woman breaks the silence by asking. “May I ask who your father is?”

 

Laito lets out a chuckle and says softly. “Tougo Sakamaki.”

 

Surprise flickers across the woman’s face before she abruptly stands up and gives them both a strained smile. “It was nice to meet you, Mr. Sakamaki. I will follow up with your father. Thank you for your time, Miss Mai. Please take care not to….get more bruises.”

 

The woman’s face flushes, and she quickly leaves the room. Mai couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. She elbows Laito in the ribs, who grunts and steps away. She casts a glare at him and stands up. Her hand flies to her mouth, and she closes her eyes to fight the nauseous feeling from taking over. She jumps when she feels a cool hand on her forehead and flinches away. Upon opening her eyes, she finds the nurse standing there with a stern frown on her face. Once again, Mai flinches and tries to mentally prepare herself for the questions that she knows will follow. The nurse doesn’t disappoint by sternly asking, “Did you really take care of a sick friend?”

 

Mai wanted to feel offended, but she was getting more and more tired. The nurse releases a sigh and glances between Mai and Laito. Upon seeing the calculating look, Mai says desperately, “I’m not sleeping with him!”

 

The nurse focuses on Mai once more and asks, “Does your parents know?”

 

Silence fills the room again. Frustrated, Mai casts a cold glare in Laito’s direction in hopes that he would finally admit the truth. The nurse’s voice reluctantly draws Mai’s attention back to her when she says, “Sweetie, I need to know the truth. You don’t have to be scared. I promise that I won’t judge you. It’s actually not uncommon for young adults to become sexually active around your age. We would just need to take measures to keep you from conceiving.”

 

Feeling utterly humiliated, Mai snaps her gaze onto Laito again, who simply holds his hands up with a laugh. She practically snarls at the fact that he wasn’t trying to help her with correcting the lie. Taking a deep, calming breath, she returns her attention to the nurse. She says, “I can assure you this bruise did not happen at home; however, Laito isn’t the one who gave it to me. I am still a virgin, and I have nothing but a friendship type relationship with Laito, though I’m starting to reconsider that. He lied in order to help me, because we are friends.”

 

She turns a stern look on Laito, who simply shrugs his shoulders, yet he still looked infuriatingly happy. She couldn’t help but feel like something had either completely gone his way, or he was very irritated with something. Either way, Mai just wanted to get away from him. The last thing she wanted to do, especially when she was sick, was deal with Laito. It doesn’t take much for her to convince the nurse to write an excuse for her to miss the day. Unfortunately, she’s not the only one who leaves the school. She tries her hardest to just ignore the footsteps following behind her. She considered turning to ask him what he was doing, but she thought better of it. He was probably just waiting for her to ask, so he could use it as an excuse to force himself into taking care of her. She just ducks her head and works her way toward her new home. Laito’s footsteps seem haunt her, especially since she knew he was letting her hear them for a reason. The second she is only a block away from her house, she decides that she can’t take it anymore. Her head was pounding, and she felt like her body had been run over. The annoyance of him following her home was just too much. She spins to glare at him. He stops just out of arm’s reach, with a cold smile on his face. A chill races down her spine, and every warning bell starts to ring in her mind. He was clearly upset about something, but she tries to force that out of her tired mind. Instead, she focuses on trying to sound brave. “What are you doing?”

 

She’s incredibly relieved when her voice doesn’t seem to waver. She was out of breath and felt even hotter than before. Her head gives a violent throb, but she’s able to shake it away. With a sense of horror, she realizes that Laito’s green eyes are colder than she ever seen them, and she was starting to second guess her question. Her entire body tenses, and she slowly returns to walking toward her house. His footsteps echo behind her again. She felt a mounting sense of dread with every echoed footstep. She slowly digs out her key and opens her front door. Just as she turns to face Laito, she finds that he is gone. Her breath catches in her throat, and she only spares a second to glance around for him. She wasn’t sure if she should feel afraid or relieved that he had disappeared. She turns back to her house and steps in. She shuts the door behind her and leans against it with a sigh of relief. Her eyes close, and she decides that she will shower before going to bed.

 

A startled cry is ripped from her throat the second a hand slams only inches from her head. Her gaze snaps open and up to find Laito leaning closer than she was comfortable with him being. In fact, his body was almost touching hers. She presses her legs tightly together, and she puts on her best frown. Out of instinct, she lifts her hands to place them on his chest in an effort to keep some sort of distance between them. He tilts his head with a small smile that practically screamed danger. “Your clothes smell like Shuu.”

 

She doesn’t get a chance to respond before his free hand reaches out to press on the bruise, causing her to release a soft hiss of pain. She presses herself even harder against the door and mockingly asks, “What? Are you jealous?”

 

With no emotion on his face, Laito stares at her for a moment. Finally, a look of amusement passes over his face, and he pulls back a little to laugh loudly. She flinches and closes her eyes when the sound sends throbs of pain through her brain. She feels him moving beneath her hands and opens her eyes only to find his face mere inches from hers. Her eyes widen, but she doesn’t get a chance to try to duck away from him. His cold forehead presses against hers, and she finds herself relaxing at the sensation. Her eyes drift closed, and she releases a slow, relaxed breath. The relief is cut short when Laito says, “You could have invited me.”

 

Mai’s eyes snap open, and she proceeds to shove him as hard as she can in pure disgust. “You are disgusting. It wasn’t like I did anything….weird with Shuu. We talked that’s all.”

 

She steps around him and starts toward her room. Despite not feeling well, she couldn’t help but feel anger overtaking anything else. She sighs in frustration when she hears him ask, “Is that really all the two of you did?”

 

With a sigh, she stops just outside her room and narrows her eyes at him. She was about to retort when bile rises up her throat. Which forces Mai to make a mad dash to the bathroom. The rest of the night and most of the next day seem to float by in a blur. She is vaguely aware that Laito had drug her, not gently, off the bathroom floor and plopped her on her bed. She’s not sure, but she thought he might have kissed her forehead, but she figured that she was dreaming, since she was more asleep than awake. She’s unable to really remember who had been there to give her medicine or get her drinks, but she does remember muttering a thank you every time. 

 

Finally, she wakes up feeling much better than before. A light growling in her stomach is her prompt to get out of bed. With a flinch, she realizes that she was still in her uniform, though she’s thankful that it was only 6 p.m. She strips, changes into an old tank top and sweats, and proceeds to start washing her uniform and a few other pieces of clothing. Her feet lead her to the kitchen where she finds cold cereal to eat. Everything seemed so quiet, that she figured that it would be ok to relax for once. After all, everyone should be sleeping at that time. That turned out to be one of the largest mistakes of her life. She was about to finish her bowl when two arms loosely wrap around her shoulders from behind, and a cold chin comes to rest on her shoulder, causing her to jump and let out a surprised sound. In accordance to her luck, she tips and spills the small amount of cereal and milk all over the table. She leaps to her feet, mildly satisfied when she hears a soft thud of the chair hitting the person followed by a grunt of annoyance. She spins to glare at Laito. He gives her a playful smile and pushes the chair off to the side. She steps away from him so she can reach back and scoop up the bowl without taking her eyes off of him. She returns it to the sink and moves to grab a towel. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Latio leaning on the counter with his chin resting in the palm of his hand while he watches her. His face was suspiciously blank, which sets a tendril of fear going in the pit of her stomach.

 

The silence continues to stretch out as she cleans up the mess. He even follows her to drop the dirty kitchen towel in the dirty clothes. She was determined to ignore him no matter what, but she was getting more and more nervous and frustrated by his silence and lack of facial expressions. In an effort to calm her nerves, she returns to the kitchen. Just as she is pulling the fridge open to a bottled water, Laito decides to make a move. He presses his body against hers from behind effectively pinning her against the fridge. She lets out a growl and tries to push back against him, but her entire body freezes the moment she feels his lips ghost over her shoulder. Every muscle in her body tenses, and she begins to worry that he might actually bite her right in the middle of her own kitchen. The tendril of fear explodes into full blown fear. Breathlessly, she asks, “Laito? What are you doing?”

 

He pulls his head back, but the fingers of one hand replaces the feel of his lips. It feels like she suddenly loses the ability to breath at the light sensation of his fingers slowly moving down her shoulder and arm. Her breathing returns when his hand reaches hers. Only seconds later, she loses the ability to breath again when his breath puffs against her neck. Her eyes closely tightly in fear. She wanted so bad to fight back, but she wasn’t quite sure what to do, since he was standing behind her. She silently berates herself for turning her back on him when she knew that something was wrong. Her mouth was starting to feel dry due to her fear, and it only gets worse when his cold hand intertwines his fingers with hers. She forces herself to focus on trying to find a way out rather than the fear mounting the pit of her stomach. There was only one thing she could think of at the moment, and it might buy her some time. She whispers softly, “Laito, stop. This is my kitchen, and I think my parents are home.”

 

His chuckles are felt more than heard. His voice is barely audible when he says, “Half the fun is getting caught.”

 

She tries to shake his hand off, while using the other to push on the fridge. In what feels like retaliation, he squeezes her hand so tight that she was worried he was going to break the small bones in her hands. She stubbornly bites back any sound of pain. To make matters even worse, he suddenly lifts and presses it against the fridge beside her head. She jerks her other hand closer in order to keep it from getting caught. Unfortunately, she’s not fast enough, since he catches her wrist and pins it to the fridge as well. She halts all efforts to push on the fridge in fear that he might squeeze her hand and wrist tight enough to do serious harm. She turns her head to try to see him, but he simply leans out of her view.

 

“You need to be punished.” His voice is low and dangerous that it sends a chill down her spine. Her eyes snap closed the second his teeth scrape the skin along the connection between her neck and shoulder. Desperate to stall the seemingly inevitable, she says.

 

“I don’t understand. Why I should be punished? If you are really just hungry, can we do it somewhere else? I remember our deal, so I promise not to fight. Besides, you don’t want to be stopped midway through, right?” Her words came out in a muffled rush. She tries to focus on her breathing. She couldn’t panic, or she would make a mistake. She had a feeling that Laito wasn’t in the mood for mistakes. That self control slips away when he rocks his pelvis into her butt. She slams her hands as hard as she can against the fridge and says loudly, “No!”

 

She’s surprised when he allows her to push back, but it gets worse when he completely disappears from behind her. Her momentum causes her to fall back into a heap on the floor. Just as she twists and gets herself righted, she feels Laito wrapping his arms around her from behind again. With a sickening spin, she finds herself in a cold, almost dank smelling hallway. She glances up and down the hallway to find that it was lined with large iron doors that practically screamed danger. Chills race up and down her spine. One end of the hallway led into pure darkness, while the other led to an iron door that was open just a few inches. Every instinct told her that she was being led to the open door, but after inspecting the darkness, she found she didn’t relish heading that way either. She glances back at the door before she slowly eases over to the wall closest to her and sits down. She wraps her arms around her knees and decides to just wait for Laito to become bored and retrieve her.

 

There was no way in hell she was going to follow unspoken directions and go into the creepy door at the end of a hallway. That just spelled doom, but she couldn’t see what waited for her in the dark either. She figured her best bet was to simply sit against the wall with the occasional glances at the ceiling just to be sure nothing was creeping along there. She flinches when she’s sure that she hears creepy moans of pain floating from inside the iron doors, but she kept telling herself that it was likely just the building she was in settling. Buildings always made strange noises, and it helped to keep her sanity to some degree. There was an underlying smell that was driving her crazy though. She couldn’t quite place what it was. Finally, the moment she was waiting for happens. Laito materializes in front of her with a small frown on his face. Mai leaps to her feet the second she sees him. Without any regard to his uncharacteristic frown, she slaps him hard. Shock fills her body at the fact that she had managed to hit him. Her wide eyes meet cold green eyes.

 

“I…. Laito?”

 

He tilts his head just a little and a smile finally takes over his face, but it wasn’t his usual playful one. The best way to describe it would be cold. His voice retains its’ playfulness, though it does nothing to ease her fear. If anything, it causes her fear to grow. “You don’t play games very well, do you, Sweetheart?”

 

“I’m not playing a game. Please take me home,” Mai whispers. Unfortunately, it still echoes off the walls. His response is to let out a chuckle before his hand wraps tightly around her wrist. With a sharp tug, he drags her down the hallway toward the door. Despite her best efforts, she isn’t able to stop him.

 

“You know the best way to achieve orgasism?” he suddenly asks. Mai flinches, and her face flushes. She only manages to stutter a few times before she’s once again interrupted by Laito’s laugh. Worry was tearing at every part of her being. She tries even hard to pull away from Laito, but he just tightens his grip to the point of pain. His voice continues on. “Being watched. Nothing is better than that, though I suppose pain comes in a close second.”

 

With a creak, the door moves under his touch. Her heart stops completely the second he jerks her through the door. With another jerk, he has her stumbling past him. He releases her just as her body moves past his, and she’s barely able to retain her balance, but she sinks to her hands and knees only moments later. She was in a rather large room that was filled with various instruments of torture from the medieval period. Fear overwhelms every part of her being, and every instinct she had was screaming at her to run. Not planning to second guess herself, she scrambles to her feet and spins toward the door, only to run straight into Laito. His arms wrap around her, and he starts to walk forward, forcing her to walk backwards. Mai thrashes in his arms, even tries to drop her weight, but it doesn’t affect him in the slightest. Frantically, Mai finds herself begging. “Latio, please don’t do anything weird. Please! How about we talk about it?! I didn’t do anything to deserve being punished by any of these! Please! I even promised to let you drink my blood! Please, Laito! Please!”

 

Her back collides with something hard and cold. Her body jerks, which earns a sadistic chuckle from Laito. She twists her head from side to side the best she can to see what they had ran into. Her horror mounts the second she sees that it’s a bull with clear scorch marks on the bottom. She finds that she’s unable to breath around the lump in her throat that she’s positive is her heart. Her gaze snaps around to meet cold, green ones. She had never been so terrified of Laito before, not even when he had bitten her the first time. He leans in to brush his nose along her jaw, but she found herself too numb to react. He inhales deeply, and she’s sure that he is smelling her. Her entire body begins to shake so bad that she was sure she wouldn’t be standing if it wasn’t for Laito. She barely manages to beg softly one more time. “Please.”

 

He scoffs against her skin and pulls his head back. He gives her an almost gentle and caring look. She tries, but she knows she fails, at trying to hide her horror. He leans back just a little more before he begins to laugh. It echoes eerily off the walls, making her feel even worse. Once he finishes laughing at her, he leans so close that his face is only centimeters away from hers. “Do you know what you did wrong?”

 

She mutely shakes her head. She honestly had no idea what she had done to warrant such behavior from him. He moves so that he can lean in and brush his lips along her jaw. She wants nothing more than to shove him away, but she was still paralyzed with fear. His lips brush over her jaw once more, but, this time, he mutters almost lovingly, “You can still smell it with your dull human senses, right?”

 

He plants another kiss; this time it’s on her cheek. It was almost like he was trying to console her, but she highly doubted that was the intention here. She keeps her mouth tightly closed. It was hard enough to keep breathing, so she didn’t want to add talking to that. He presses a kiss to the corner of her mouth before switching sides. “Do you know what it is?”

 

His lips brush her jaw once again. She stubbornly doesn’t say a word, but it doesn’t seem to bother him. He finally makes it back up to her mouth, where he once again kisses the corner. He pulls back to give her an excited look. “It’s blood. Human blood to be specific. These tools have been washed so many times, but it doesn’t change the fact that millions of people have been tortured to death by these. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

 

Bile quickly rises in her throat, but it disappears just as quickly. Laito pulls her body tightly against his. She flinches when he lovingly presses his lips against hers, but he was clearly uninterested in getting her to kiss him back, since he didn’t try very hard. His gentle kisses move back down one side of her face toward her neck. She finally manages to work up the courage to ask, “What did I do?”

 

“Hm?” He pulls back to regard her for a moment. She manages to look him straight in the eye, despite still shaking so bad that she couldn’t stand on her own. Suddenly, her body is flung backwards into the bull once again. She hits it so hard that it drives what little air out of her lungs. Her head collides against the metal side with a solid thunk, but it’s not as bad as other times he had shoved her. Still, she sinks to her knees beneath the bull with a ringing head. He squats in front of her. His hand gently cups her chin, drawing her attention upward. She has to blink a few times to clear the double images she was seeing. While she is doing that, he says. “I don’t like liars, Sweetheart. I don’t mind sharing either, but I’d like to be present the next time you decide on a threesome.”

 

“What?” Confusion fills Mai’s body. She reaches up to feel the back of her head for any bleeding or a bump. Thankfully, there isn’t.

 

“Shuu.” That word causes surprise to fill her stomach. This was what it was all about? Once she focuses on him again, she sees that he is giving her an expectant look.

 

Anger overtakes any pain or fear she has left. “What the hell are you talking about?”

 

His hand scoops up the wrist Shuu had bitten, and he digs his thumb into the wrist Shuu. Pain races up her arm, and her fingers go numb. Out of instinct, she tries to jerk her hand away, but Laito keeps a tight grip on her. Tears of pain and anger fill her eyes, and she glares up at him. He leans close to her ear and says coldly. “I would like an invite next time.”

 

She isn’t sure when it had started, but she was biting her lip at that point. The taste of iron unfortunately brings her back to her senses. A look of adoration is plastered on Laito’s face when he pulls away, but she had a feeling that this was just an act. She turns her head away when he leans in to kiss her. A chill runs down her spine the second she hears him breathlessly say, “I love you.”

 

The only warning she gets is his breath against the skin of her neck. She doesn’t even have time to tense before his teeth sink painfully deep into her neck. She flinches and closes her eyes tightly. Laito’s arms wrap around and pull Mai into his lap, though she wasn’t positive when he had actually sat down. She was fully prepared for pain, but this bite took her off guard.

 

An instantly, pleasantly warm sensation was rushing through her veins. In fact, everything felt clearer for a few seconds. Despite herself, she leans her head to the side a little and takes a deep breath. She tells herself that it was to keep herself from squirming in his grip and hurting herself, but she knew it wasn’t the true reason. She clenches her teeth tighter and tries to ignore the pleasant feeling that had every body part tingling at that point. She unintentionally lets out a soft moan.

 

The pleasant feeling is short lived when black starts to invade her vision. Her body was starting to heat to uncomfortable levels. Panic starts to swell in the pit of her stomach, and her vision starts to feel like it’s swirling around her. She shifts, and the pleasure turns to pain. The pain helps to wake her up once more. Her arms had somehow gotten loosely wrapped around his neck. She shifts her body, vaguely aware that she was straddling him when something below her brushes her clothed womanhood. She flinches when she realizes what it could be, but she had more important things to worry about. Her fingers were becoming numb, and she slowly lifts her hand to his hair. Her fingers sink into it easily. Her slow mind wonders how long he hadn’t been wearing his hat.

 

“Laito, please stop.” Her voice was so low that she didn’t think he could hear it through his greedy gulps. She flinches when he moans into her neck and pulls her tighter against him. Her fingers wraps around his hair at the roots. With a sharp tug, she finally manages to get his attention. His green eyes seem to appear before her. She uses them to focus on staying awake, even though her head dips forward a few times. “Stop.”

 

She didn’t even have the energy to flinch. She could barely keep herself awake at that point. A pair of cold hands come as a shock when they gently cup her face. Her eyes focus on his. She knew she should have seen this coming, but she hadn’t. His face suddenly becomes a lot closer than it was before. She wasn’t able to process that he was kissing her until every inch of her mouth is coated in the metallic taste of her own blood, making her nauseous. His eyes had closed when he had started kissing her, so she loses her ability to focus and was sagging against him. Her eyes start to slide closed. Just as she is about to give in to sweet nothingness, her body is jolted. Her attention focuses just enough to remember glowing, green eyes and haunting words.

 

“You’re my toy.”

 

Everything fades into darkness, but it felt much more bittersweet this time.

 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

There are a few things that she is aware of when she slowly wakes up. One was that her neck wasn’t as sore as she thought it would be. Another was that her mouth still tasted of iron, and it made her gag. When she shifts in bed, she is greeted with a pleasant scent that makes it worth dealing with the taste in her mouth. On top of smelling good, the bed felt so warm and comfortable that she lets herself slip back to sleep. Her body jerks awake only seconds later by a knock on the door. Her eyes snap open and she twists to a sitting position. “Sorry, mom! I’m….up?”

 

Her voice trails to a whisper as horror builds. She wasn’t at home. In fact, she was sure this was nothing short of a nightmare. She was still in her sweats, but her shirt was missing. Thankfully, she still had her bra on. To make matters even worse, the door had opened to reveal a look of irritation on Reiji’s face. He slowly makes his way to the foot of the bed and gives her a look of pure disgust. Mai scrambles for the blankets in order to try to cover up her bra. She knew her face had turned a deep crimson color, and she opens her mouth to try to explain. “I.. It’s not what it looks like.”

 

She flinches at how cliche she sounded, but she couldn’t think of a different thing to say. Reiji makes a simple dismissing gesture, so she’s relieved of that duty. His red eyes flicker over the bed before landing on Mai. “Do you have your uniform with you?”

 

She opens and closes her mouth a few times before slowly shaking her head. He releases a sigh and pushes up his glass. “Pathetic.”

 

She grits her teeth and pulls Laito’s blankets closer. She was determined not to feel any more humiliated than she already felt. Unfortunately, that was getting harder and harder to do with the way that Reiji was staring at her. A look of satisfaction suddenly spreads over his face, causing worry to bubble through the humiliation. He leans over the foot of the bed and says. “You skipped class yesterday.”

 

“I wasn’t feeling well,” Mai stubbornly argues. He scoffs and straightens once more. He moves to smooth out his uniform.

 

“That good-for-nothing isn’t answering his door again. As punishment for not informing me or Shuu first, you are responsible for getting him to school. I will have some familiars return to your home in order to get your uniform.” He doesn’t give her a chance to even tell him that her uniform had been in the washer for a few hours. He simply turns and leaves the room. Mai’s eyes narrow at the door as silence takes over the room. She glances around to find that Laito wasn’t even in the room. Despite a sense of relief, suspicion quickly fills her chest, and she slowly makes her way out of the bed. Her legs felt shaky beneath her, but she wasn’t as weak as she thought she would be. She looks around the room, but she unfortunately can’t find her shirt anywhere. With a flinch, she realizes that she would have to borrow one of Laito’s. She slowly makes her way over to the closet. With a sigh, she steadies her nerves and opens the door.

 

Her heart leaps into her throat when two arms wrap around her waist. She’s pulled back against a cold body. In seconds, she is trying to shove those arms away. A chuckle against her neck only has her fighting even harder. With a snarl, she says. “Let me go, asshole.”

 

He chuckles once more before spinning her on the spot. Black spots fill her vision, and she unwillingly leans on Laito for support. Once she is steady, she quickly pulls herself away. Thankfully, he doesn’t resist her pulling away. Instead, he gives her a playful grin, much to her relief. It felt almost like she was dealing with the regular Laito. With a teasing hint to his voice, he asks, “so what are you doing?”

 

She narrows her eyes at him. Without meaning to, she snaps, “Where is my shirt? What the hell is wrong with you?”

 

Her arms quickly wrap around her chest, though she’s sure that he’s the one who took her shirt. He steps around her and begins to look through his clothes. She clenches her fists tightly and asks as calmly as she can. “What the hell were you doing yesterday?”

 

She watches him turn to face her. Her frustration builds upon seeing the sadistic smile on his face. That’s all she gets to see since a piece of clothing suddenly wraps around her face. Her heart skips a beat, and she reaches up to rip the shirt off, only to come face to face with an uncharacteristically serious look on Laito’s face. He was only inches from her face. His voice is low, and it sends chills down her spine. “I was punishing you. As for your shirt, it got blood on it, so I sent it to be cleaned. You should be thanking me, Sweetheart.”

 

Anger ignites in the pit of her stomach, helping her to feel less scared. She presses his shirt over her chest and leans closer to him, hoping that he understands that she is trying to be just as threatening as he was being. She practically growls out, “I did nothing wrong.”

 

A smile breaks out over his face, but she doesn’t get a chance to react before his fingers lightly brush the side of her neck that he had bitten. Out of instinct, she flinches back, fully expecting it to hurt. To her surprise, she doesn’t get a jolt of pain through her body. Suspicion only fuels her anger, and she backs up a few steps, so she’s more in his room than his closet. He tilts his head for a moment, which just makes his smile seem even more sadistic. She clenches the shirt even tighter. She suddenly felt completely naked in front of him, but she knew that she still had her pants, underwear and bra on. Still, she wanted nothing more than to put the shirt on, but she didn’t dare take her eyes off Laito. Despite still smirking at her, he clicks his tongue and releases a mock frustrated sigh. He takes a seemingly threatening step toward her, causing her to take two steps back. Much to her increasing horror, her actions seem to just delight him even more. His voice sounds cheerful, but Mai has a feeling that he’s actually being threatening. “You didn’t invite me to your playdate with Shuu. That wasn’t very fair of you. Next time, you’ll think twice about doing that, hm?”

 

Those words cause her stare at him in utter disbelief. She was having a hard time wrapping her mind around what he was saying, so her gaze drops to the floor, while she tries to figure out how to respond to his twisted explanation. Laito takes advantage of her lapse in attention to close the distance between them. It’s not until his cold fingers brush her jaw that she finally snaps back into reality and slaps his hand away. She takes a step back and snarls. “You’re insane. Why would it matter to you?”

 

A brief look flashes over his face before it disappears. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get a chance to see what it was. He tilts his head with the smirk on his face once more. “Didn’t I tell you? I love you.”

 

She can’t stop the scoff from leaving her mouth and clenches the shirt even tighter. She didn’t see him leaving the room anytime soon, so, against her better judgement, she turns her back and pulls the shirt on as fast as she can. Thankfully, he doesn’t touch her, and she’s able to turn around to face him again with a frown. Her eyes narrow, and her voice is barely above a whisper when she asks, “How can you say those words so easily?”

 

He chuckles and turns away from her. She watches him make his way over to his bed, where he drops his fedora. His hand reaches up to run his fingers through his hair before he turns to face her. Her entire body tenses at the playful smile on his face. She was starting to regret her question, so she opens her mouth to tell him that she had changed her mind. She didn’t want to know the answer anymore, but she doesn’t get a chance to. To her absolute horror, he pulls his shirt off, which is quickly followed by his pants. She spins on her heel to look away without a second thought. Her wide eyes stare at the wall while she tries to get the image of him in only boxers out of her head. It’s silent for so long that she was starting to consider glancing back to see if he had simply gotten redressed and left. Just when she manages to work up the courage, he starts talking, causing her to jump. “You didn’t seem to hate the way I drank your blood.”

 

She was pretty sure that his voice was meant to sound arrogant, but she can’t help rolling her eyes. She doesn’t get a chance to deny anything, since he had continued talking.“In fact, I’d say you were enjoying it. I wonder….. Would you like to try bondage?”

 

Her face flushes, and she jumps when his arms wrap around her from behind. She immediately starts to squirm in his grip, hoping that he was at least dressed. Since she wasn’t getting anywhere just squirming, she tries to twist so she can shove him away. Unfortunately, he was holding her too tightly. In a last ditch effort to get free, she drops her weight and grabs his arms, intent on causing some sort of pain in order to make him release her. Unfortunately, a bone crushing squeeze keeps her from digging her nails into his skin. It also effectively winds her. She is gasping for breath when his nose brushes along her cheek. Her entire body tenses, and she finds it even harder to catch her breath. She has to force out between her teeth. “I’m not interested in doing that sort of stuff with you.”

 

He chuckles against her skin. Just as suddenly as he grabbed her, he lets her go. She whirls to face him, only to instantly regret it. He was standing just out of arm’s reach, and he wasn’t wearing anything other than a playful smile. Despite not being completely innocent, she had never seen a naked man in real life. It takes a moment for her mind to catch up to what she was seeing. The second it does, she whirls back around, but that doesn’t help to erase the image on his naked body from her memory. Her mouth opens and closes a few times, and her face goes an even darker shade of red. He had touched her only seconds before, and she was now positive that he hadn’t been wearing clothes. Her mind starts to race wildly, causing her to closes her eyes tightly and take a slow steadying breath. Thankfully, the wild images in her mind slowly disappear with each breath she takes. To her relief, Laito had remained silent during this, which gives her time to recollect her thoughts. She needed to get out of the room as soon as possible, but she didn’t dare turn around again. Unfortunately, the door was behind her. In an effort to not think about being in a room alone with a naked Laito, she asks. “What does the world love mean to you?”

 

He makes a soft noise that she assumed was a scoff, but it was too quiet for her to be sure. He steps around in front of her, causing her to flinch and close her eyes. She silently berates herself for asking him something so stupid. She didn’t expect him to answer, so it doesn’t come as a surprise when he asks, “What do you think love is?”

 

She slowly opens her eyes, intent on only focusing on his face. Unfortunately, her curiosity gets the better of her, and she glances downward. Thankfully, he’s dressed in his school uniform, which is complete with his fedora. Despite herself, she feels her body relax just a little and takes a few seconds to observe the amused look on his face. Finally, she manages to softly say. “I think love isn’t like the fairytales say it is. I think that there isn’t always a happy ending, but I think it’s a wonderful feeling. That everyone deserves to feel at least once in their life.”

 

His eyes narrow a little, and it looks like he might be ready to say something, but she doesn’t give him a chance to. “I do think they got the feeling in the pit of your stomach right. A warm feeling that, at times, feels like butterflies. I think that if you love someone, you worry about them, even if you are mad. You argue; you don’t always agree, but at the end of the day, you still go to bed with them. Or at least wish them goodnight. I also think that love changes over time. It matures.”

 

Her eyes meet his, and he gives her an amused look. A frown covers her face, and she asks softly. “What?”

 

“You are so naive that it’s cute,” he says with a playful tone. Confusion feels her body, which only grows when he starts to laugh.

 

“What are you talking about?” she slowly asks. She watches as he pulls his hat off and runs his hand through his hair. He closes his eyes and releases a slow breath. Seconds later, his eyes slowly open to give her a sadistically playful look that sends her heart racing with fear. He sets his hat back on his head and takes a slow step toward her. Despite the fear coursing through her veins, she stubbornly stands her ground as he stalks closer to her. The closer he got the harder it was to breathe.

 

“Your view on love is like a child’s. There is no true love,” he mutters. Before she has a chance reconsider being stubborn, he reaches out to run his fingers through the hair framing her face in an almost loving manner. She leans away from his touch, careful to keep her surprise at his action off her face. Still, that simple action just makes his smile grow. He leans even closer to her, only his hand catches the back of her head this time, preventing her from escaping this time. To make matters even worse, his fingers twist into her hair, causing her to let out a loud sound of pain. Her entire body tenses, and she prepares to knee him between the legs when a knock on the door has her jumping. Unfortunately, Laito wasn’t surprised, so his hand didn’t move at all. Pain erupts through her scalp, and tears well up in the corners of her eyes. His face fills her vision, and fear causes her heart to stop. He had a mock look of curiosity on his face. She understands why only moments later when he slowly pulls his hand straight down. The pain in her scalp gets even worse, and she was sure that he was trying to rip some of her hair out by the roots. She ends up leaning her head back even further to keep from pulling her hair anymore than necessary. In the end, her back arches enough to press her chest into his.

 

“Laito, it is time to go to school. You have ten minutes to get down to the car.” Mai’s eyes flick to the side, but all she can see is the bed. She flinches when something cold slowly runs along the jugular vein in her neck. Her eyes flick back to look at Laito. All she can see is a sea of red hair. His cold tongue runs along the spot he had previously bitten, then it moves to run up the front part of her throat. She flinches and releases a soft noise of irritation in the back of her throat and reaches out to shove on Laito. To her surprise, he allows her to shove him away, but he doesn’t release her hair. Her head snaps to the side, and she twists her body to try to ease the pain. She lets out a cry of pain and stumbles backward into Laito when he tugs. His arm wraps around her waist, and his hand finally leaves her hair. Despite the tears of fear and pain welling in her eyes, she starts to squirm. Her fight only becomes stronger when his hand slowly works its way up her leg. To her horror, he had moved from the front of her thigh to the inner portion. She desperately tries to shake his hand off, but she had a feeling that he wasn’t going to let her go easily. His voice is low in her ear when he mutters, “there is only one type of love.”

 

His hand lightly brushes over her womanhood, causing her suck in a sharp breath and jerk in surprise. He chuckles against her ear and pulls her even tighter against him. “See? Isn’t this better than some fairytale about a prince in shining armor?”

 

His fingers brush her a couple more times, preventing her from responding with more than a strangled noise. She wasn’t sure when she had stopped struggling, but the sound of his mocking laughter in her ear causes her to struggle as hard as she can once more. Thankfully, he releases her. She jerks away from him and twists to face him with a weak glare. She hated that her body felt warmer than normal, and she was panting lightly. He gives her a flirtatious wink and leans forward to say, “I see you didn’t find it completely disagreeable, Sweetheart. Perhaps if you are good, I can play nice when we get home from school.”

 

A thoughtful look spreads over his face, and he tilts his head. Just as she was about to respond to him, but his next words cut her off. “I suppose we could always do it in school, if you are impatient.”

 

She can only stare at him in complete shock before she gives her head a violent shake and snarls, “Go to hell.”

 

His chuckle feels almost like he is mocking her, but he vanishes before she can say anything else. She lifts a shaking hand to her mouth and closes her eyes, desperate to tell herself that this was nothing more than a bad dream. A soft knock on the door has her jumping and spinning to face it. Every muscle in her entire body tenses, and she finds herself unable to even move. The knock continues until she’s finally able to shake away the shock that was flooding her body. “Ah, c…..come in?”

 

The door slowly opens to reveal the old man she assumed was somehow related to Reiji. He bows and moves over to the bed, where he proceeds to lay out her school uniform. To her continued humiliation, he also lays out a bra and underwear. He sets the shoes on the floor and turns to face her. His face is downturned, and his eyes were closed. She expected him to bow and leave, which he does bow. Instead of just leaving, he says softly. “Master Reiji informed me that you were going to try to rouse Master Shuu. He said to assist you in anyway necessary. He would also like to remind you that if you are late to school, your punishment will be extended.”

 

Mai flinches at the thought. The man bows once more and sweeps out of the room before she can ask him anything. She frowns after him, but she gives her head a shake and turns to quickly get dressed. She wanted nothing more than to shower before going to school, but she didn’t think she had the time. If she knew anything about Shuu, she figured that she would be cutting it close. The brothers usually arrived at school, at minimum, fifteen minutes early, and Laito had wasted some of her time already. She moves over to feel the uniform. To her surprise, it was completely dry. She lifts the shirt to smell it, only to find that it simply smelled like laundry soap. With a sigh, she decides to not waste time on figuring out how her uniform had been cleaned in such a short time. She just needed to quickly get dressed. Once she is ready, she slips out of the room. To her relief, the old man is patiently standing outside Laito’s door. He gestures down the hallway, prompting Mai to start walking. When he falls into step behind her, she feels a sense of relief flood her body. She wasn’t sure what he could do, but she still felt it was better not to be alone with Shuu. She glances over her shoulder at the old man. “May I ask a question?”

 

“Yes, my lady.” Despite being polite, it makes her cringe. She looks ahead once more to judge how much further she had. If she had questions, she figured she had better hurry to ask before they arrived at Shuu’s door.

 

“Please don’t call me ‘my lady’. It makes me feel…..weird. Do you serve Reiji?” She glances back in time to catch a nod. 

 

“I’m something of a familiar to him.” She glances back, since she wasn’t quite sure she heard him right. The image of the familiar in the car sends a chill down her spine, and she shudders. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know anything more than that. Still, she was feeling a little more confident, so she slows her steps, expecting him to catch up to her. Unfortunately, he simply slows his steps to match hers. With a sigh, she returns to her previous pace. “Can I ask you about Laito?”

 

“I’m afraid I am only be able to tell you basic information.”

 

Disappointment fills Mai’s chest, but she quickly crushes it and spins to face the old man. With a new sense of determination, she says, “Ok. Can you answer this, then? I’ve been having these weird…. I don’t know what to call them. I see these women that seem like they are calling out to me, almost like they are warning me of something. Do you know anything about that?”

 

The old man’s head hangs even lower than before. Hope and suspicion fights for a foothold in her stomach. She had a feeling that he knew what was going on, so she could only hope that he would actually tell her. Frustration fills her chest when he finally does say something. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I cannot answer that.”

 

She closes her eyes and takes a moment to crush the overwhelming disappointment. She finally turns back around, continues walking. After a few minutes, she asks, “Who would know the answers to those questions? Oh, I would like it if they gave me a straight answer.”

 

It’s silent for so long that Mai was starting to believe he wouldn’t say anything at all. That made her hopes sink even further. Was there really no one who would answer her questions? Once again, she realizes that had gotten involved in something she didn’t quite understand beforehand. She abruptly stops just outside Shuu’s door when something occurs to her. She wasn’t regretting it as much as she had before. She jumps when the old man reminds her that she only had ten minutes. With a sigh, she lifts her hand to knock on the door. Just before her knuckles hit the door the old man drops a figurative bombshell. “Master Reiji also would like me to inform you that you have to get Master Shuu to school, or you will be punished.”

 

Despite going to school without Shuu hadn’t occurred to her, Mai couldn’t help but stare at the door in utter frustration. It felt like Reiji was setting her up to fail, and she couldn’t figure out why. Just as she closes her eyes, the old man informs her of the time constraint. She decides not to bother knocking, and she just lets herself into the room. The minute she opens the door, she is surprised by how dark it was. With a frown, she whispers softly. “Shuu?”

 

To her mounting frustration with the situation, she is met with silence. After repeating his name a few times, she grits her teeth and steels herself to venture further into his room. She runs her hand along the wall, feeling for the light switch. She misjudges the distance from the door to the stairs and ends up painfully sliding them. Pain races up her leg when she tries to use her foot to stop herself. A cold hand catches her seconds later, and she is pulled upright just as the lights come on. She flinches both with the light and the throbbing in her ankle. She had a feeling that this was going to be a prelude to how the night was going to go. She glances back to see the old man give her a small nod that she assumed was supposed to encourage her. She mutters a thank you and turns her attention across the room. With a sigh, she slowly limps her way in that direction. Every step causes her to let out a small squeak of pain. Her irritation only rises when she makes it to the large bed, only to find Shuu in the exact center of it. She couldn’t quite reach him, and she didn’t want to crawl up on the bed if she didn’t have to. She leans against it and uses her weight to try to bounce the bed. Unfortunately, it appears the mattress was designed to deal with motion, so it doesn’t disturb him at all. She tries calling his name as loud as she can, but she’s met with the same results as before, only she gets a couple of comments such as ‘stop being so noisy’ or ‘go away, woman’.

 

Completely unsure of what to do, Mai glances at the old man for help, only to have him inform her that she only had six minutes to get to school. After making a loud noise of pure irritation, Mai slowly, and reluctantly, climbs up onto his bed. She tries not to use her aching foot more than she had to. Just as she is about to crawl closer to Shuu, she realizes that she still had her shoes on. She twists to dangle her feet off the edge and slips one shoe off easily. The other makes her hiss softly in pain. She could see through the sock that it was swelling. With a sigh of irritation, she decides to just ignore the pain. She couldn’t do anything about it right now, so she was just wasting time. She turns to crawl toward Shuu when her eyes meet one blue eye. Shuu was laying on his stomach so half his face was hidden in the pillow. The upper half of his body was completely bare, leaving her hoping that the half that was covered was wearing some sort of clothing. Every muscle in her body tenses, and she scowls at Shuu. She doesn’t even bother trying to hide her irritation when she demands, “Get up. It’s not just your schooling that is on the line here.”

 

He scoffs and simply lets his eye drift closed again. Mai can’t help but roll her eyes and crawl closer. She slowly reaches out, ready to pull her hand away should he show any signs of grabbing her. Her hand latches loosely onto his shoulder, and she gives him a few shakes. She puts as much authority into her voice as she can. “Get up, Shuu. I don’t want to have to deal with Reiji getting even more upset at me.”

 

“You do know that you won’t make it to school on time, and you will still get punished, don’t you? So why bother trying?” Shuu’s muffled voice asks from the pillow. She scowls at him, though the effort is wasted on him. She rolls her eyes for what felt like the millionth time.

 

“Get up, Shuu,” Mai demands yet again. “I’m not leaving you alone until you get up. I promise you that you won’t sleep either. Not if I have anything to do with it.”

 

To her utter irritation, she watches his chest rise and fall. Her hands grip the blanket tightly in irritation before an idea springs to her mind. She slowly scoots her way off the bed. The second she puts weight on her wounded ankle, it buckles leaving her in a heap on the floor. She lets out a strangled noise that was a cross between pain and irritation. To her relief, the old man appears and drags her back to her feet. She leans close to whisper her plan to him. For the first time, she sees an emotion flicker across the his face. He didn’t look very enthusiastic with her plan. His voice is so soft that she can barely hear it. “Ma’am, I would like to caution you about this. It is not wise. The full moon is in a few days.”

 

Mai resists the urge to ask what the moon had to do with anything, but she decides to file it away and ask it later. Still, she can’t help but smile at his protest. She had a feeling this was drastic enough to get the lazy blonde moving. Mai reaches out to pat him on the shoulder. Trying to sound as kind as she can, she says, “I know you don’t agree, so how about this? You retrieve the stuff then you can leave the room. I’ll wait till you are gone before I act. Then, whatever happens is on me.”

 

His face had returned to the blank look. His voice is so low that she can barely hear him say, “You are injured. If Master Shuu retaliates, you will be in danger.”

 

He mutters something else under his breath, but he bows and turns to leave. Mai turns her gaze back to Shuu. She wasn’t sure why she was so surprised to see the headphones, but she was. She swallows hard and slowly crawls back up onto the bed. Working her way over to Shuu, she stops before him. For a moment, she considers taking them out, but she decides to wait until last second to do so. It’d ruin her fun if he woke up prematurely. For a brief moment, she considers the possibility of her plan not working, but she quickly shoves that thought away when the old man shows up with the bucket. The ice inside clinks softly. The old man still looked unsure as he passes the bucket over to her. She simply smiles at him and waits for him to leave. The bucket was heavier than she expected it to be, so she sets it on the bed, careful not to spill any. With a deep breath to steady her nerves, she reaches out to grab the music player but stops. Her eyes glance to the bucket then back at him. She could still soak him without getting his head and neck. With a devious grin, Mai lifts the bucket and proceeds to tip it over the middle of his back, then she jerks it toward his lower body. The second that Shuu moves, she finishes upending the bucket and scrambles away. She leaps off the bed, only to end up in a painful heap on the floor again. Still, she scrambles to stand and turns to see what Shuu was doing. To her utter surprise, he hadn’t moved an inch. In fact, she wasn’t even sure he had woken up. She considers approaching, but she silently reminds herself that this was likely a ploy and decides to wait to see what he would do. She slowly inched her way to the door. Once she reaches the stairs, she frowns. He still had not moved an inch. She knew that she was late to school already, and it was looking like she was going to be even later.

 

“Shuu?” Mai cautiously calls out. His body still doesn’t move, so she slowly makes her way back to the bed. She didn’t dare get any closer, but she was starting to feel incredibly guilty about throwing ice water on him. “Are…..are you alright?”

 

She’s relieved when she hears a groan. The minutes tick by before he slowly lifts his hand and gestures for her to move closer. She quickly shakes her head, but he gestures once more. Mai frowns at him and says sternly, “I’m not stupid, Shuu. I just dumped ice water on you. Even if you are lazy, there is no way you won’t retaliate against me.”

 

She can only stare in utter amazement when he lets his hand fall beside him and shifts. Silence settles between them that Mai stubbornly refuses to break. Finally, she gives in and says, “Look, Shuu, I’m already in deep trouble with Reiji. Can you please get up and get dressed?”

 

Anger almost overwhelms her when she is met with silence yet again. Finally, she turns to look around his room. With a flinch, she moves to his closet, finds a uniform, and gets some shoes. She proceeds to limp over and dump the clothes on the bottom of the bed with the shoes on the floor. Then, she makes her way over to the dresser in an effort to find underwear and socks. Once those are located, she proceeds to dump them on top of his clothes. She seethes in both pain and frustration, “I got your clothes for you. Just get out of bed, Shuu!”

 

Once again, she’s met with silence, though she had a feeling that he was deliberately ignoring her. Her eyes narrow, and she scoops up the clothes and moves slowly around the bed to put them on the nightstand. Just as she reaches out to grab and pull the blankets off the bed, she is met face to face with blue eyes. She flinches back, but his arm was already wrapping around her shoulders, effectively pulling her closer to his cold body. Her face is pressed against his collarbone, making it hard to breath. Despite the pain in her ankle, she starts to wiggle, flinching every time her ankle bumps into his body. After only a couple of flinches, his leg appears between hers and wraps around the one with her sore ankle. He proceeds to pull it between his and immobilize it. His arm appears around her waist when she tries pushing him. Thankfully, she wasn’t lying in the puddle of cold water, but she could feel it soaking his pants, which was starting to soak into her skirt. She lets out a growl and snaps, “What are you doing? We need to get to school.”

 

“I’m cold.”

 

She stops struggling and rolls her eyes. She didn’t see an effective way of breaking out of the blonde’s hold, and it was her fault that he was cold. Despite not being happy about cuddling with the lazy male, she figured it was better to not waste her energy trying to escape, plus she was feeling guilty. After taking a couple slow breaths to calm down, Mai says softly. “I’m sorry that you are cold, but you shouldn’t have just laid in the wet spot, so you can’t exactly blame me. Now, let me go.”

 

“You’re warm,” he practically sighs out. It sounded like he was going to sleep again. Panic sets in, and she moves her head enough to look up at him. She grits her teeth upon seeing that his eyes were closed. She immediately looks to the side when he pulls her closer. She could feel him pressing his face to the top of her head.

 

“I swear to god, Shuu, if you go to sleep, I will take that MP3 player away and hide it in the school.”

 

She chances a glance upward when his head pulls away from hers. His eyes were slightly open, and a smile was tugging at the corner of his mouth. Dread fills her body, and it renews her efforts to wiggle free. His voice is low, barely audible. “Do you believe in God?”

 

Disbelief fills her body, and she once again stops struggling in favor of trying to look up at him. Is that all he took away from her threat? Finally, she manages to force out. “I hardly think what I believe in really matters in this situation. Let go and get up.”

 

He lets out a chuckle that she can feel through his chest, causing a shudder to run down her spine. She tries to lean her face as far away as she can. An almost playful looking smirk adorns his face when he says, “you should take responsibility for making me cold.”

 

She rolls her eyes for what felt like the millionth time and falls silent. Her mind was racing in an attempt to get Shuu to not only let her go, but to get him out of bed. A knock on the door causes her to jump. The sound of the door opening sends a shock of hope through her body. She wiggles a little, to which Shuu doesn’t even react. She finally manages to be able to turn and find the old man standing beside the bed. Shock runs through her body upon seeing the look of amusement on his face. Unfortunately, it’s only there for a couple of seconds before the old man manages to wipe it away. Her eyes narrow at him, since she had a feeling he was about to mock her. Sadly, she’s right. “It looks like things are going very well for you, Ms. Teddy Bear.”

 

She attempts to make a rude gesture, but she knows it comes off as awkward. She struggles a little once more before stating desperately, “Help me!”

 

The old man dips his head before he reaches toward her. She’s not quite sure what exactly how it happened, but the old man manages to free her from Shuu. The second she puts weight on her wounded ankle, forgotten pain races up her leg, causing her to reach out and lean on the old man. He doesn’t seem surprised, nor does he lean under her weight. Her eyes lock with the blonde, and she reluctantly feels like she’s been defeated by the blonde. It’s only made worse by the fact that the old man informs her that she is somehow already two hours late for school. She tiredly lifts a hand and waves it. “I give. Can I have a ride home?”

 

The old man wraps his arm around her waist and helps her to limp her way toward Shuu’s door. His voice is once again emotionless when he says, “I’m sorry, ma’am. Master Reiji informed us that you are walk home if you would like to go home. In fact, you are so late that you would have to walk to school. You are going to be punished regardless to whether you show up or not.”

 

With a sigh, Mai nods and asks softly, “Can I just lay down, then?”

 

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees him nodding. Thankfully, they were out of Shuu’s room at that point. To her surprise, they turn away from Yui’s room. It takes her only a few seconds to realize where they were headed. She stops instantly, causing him to jerk her slightly. She turns a frown on him and sternly says, “No.”

 

He dips his head lightly and says politely, “I’m sorry, ma’am. I naturally assumed that you would rest in Master Laito’s room, since you seem closer to him than any of the others. Where would you like to go?”

 

She continues to frown at him and says slowly. “Yui’s room, please.”

 

The second they get turned around, she asks, “Why do you think I’m closest to Laito?”

 

He takes a moment to answer; it was like he was trying to think of the least offensive way of saying it. “You smell strongly of Master Laito.”

 

Her jaw drops open, and she finds herself just staring at him for a few seconds before her face flushes. She knew it wouldn’t have helped, but she found herself thinking she should have showered. She turns her gaze straight ahead once more and mutters. “I don’t think I do.”

 

Thankfully, he doesn’t respond, since she was so wrapped up in her thoughts. At least, she didn’t think he did. Finally, she manages to sort out her thoughts and glances at the old man to ask, “Can I ask you why Laito is so…..”

 

She trails off, completely unsure of how to ask her question. Silence is her only answer, but she wasn’t in a rush to get one. They were moving slowly, so it would take them a while to get to Yui’s room. Once she realizes the old man wasn’t going to answer an incomplete question, she releases a sigh and decides to start with something easier. She scrapes her brain for an easier question. Once she finally finds one worth asking, she glances at the old man and asks softly, “Why is Ayato the way he is? You know, possessive and pushy?”

 

The ghost of a smile touches the old man’s face. With a jolt, Mai realizes that it was a look of fondness, but it is gone before it can fully form. His voice is low, but it was like he was seeing something else. “He was kind as a child. He played with his triplet brothers quite often, so I suppose Lady Cordelia would be the reason for Ayato’s current behavior. She spent what little time she gave him lecturing or punishing him.”

 

Surprise fills Mai’s body. This was the most she had heard aside from the fact that the brothers all had different mothers. She decides to push her luck even further. “Did their mother spend more time with Kanato and Laito, then?”

 

The old man slowly shakes his head. With a sigh, he continues to explain. “I believe their mother never wanted any of them. She only gave birth to compete with their father’s other wife, Beatrix.”

 

A tingle of pain races through her stomach. This just roused even more questions than it answered. On top of it all, she had a small tendril of sympathy for them. She quickly shakes her head and reminds herself that it didn’t excuse their current actions. She focuses on the old man again. “So, does Ayato ever give up something that he’s claimed?”

 

The old man slowly shakes his head. “If you are referring to Ms. Yui, you are too late. She is already doomed.”

 

A cold jolt races down her spine, causing her to freeze. The old man jerks her lightly, but he stops moving, save turning to look at her. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of suspicion rising in the pit of her stomach. Her mind kept telling her that it was nothing short of a coincidence that he had said the same thing as the woman, but her instincts were telling her that it wasn’t. Suddenly, her skin starts to crawl, and unease fills her entire body. She swallows hard and clears her throat. “What happens to the brides?”

 

“They die.” His response was so cold that it has her pulling away from him. She had almost convinced herself that he was somewhat caring, but she now had a feeling that he was just as cruel as the brothers.

 

“How?”

 

He dips his head, and his voice is barely audible. “They don’t survive being transformed, and Miss Yui is already headed down that path.”

 

It feels like she is being suffocated. She reaches out and grabs a fistfull of the old man’s clothes. “How?”

 

He releases a sigh and says softly. “Master Ayato simply drinking from her will transform her. The more he drinks, the closer she gets to the edge.”

 

Her thoughts were racing so fast that she couldn’t form a coherent question. Finally, she manages to get ahold of them just in time to breathlessly ask, “Can she leave and stop this process?”

 

The silence is enough of an answer for her. She didn’t want to think about what Yui was being transformed into, and she didn’t plan to ask. She already knew what it was. An overwhelming sense of defeat fills every inch of her body. With a shake of her head, she reminds herself to not give up on Yui. She hadn’t transformed yet, so there was always hope. She pulls away from the old man and coldly says, “I’ll get myself to her room.”

 

She doesn’t wait for him to say anything. She just proceeds down the hall as quickly as her ankle will allow. Thankfully, she’s able to make it to Yui’s room without further incident. With a flinch, she crawls up on the bed and collapses into the middle of it. She lays on her side and thinks about what happened that day. With a jolt, she realizes that she must smell like Shuu again. A tendril of fear curls through her stomach at the thought of the last time that had happened. She stubbornly closes her eyes and forces herself to not think about it. After all, she didn’t belong to Laito. She assumed it was because she had just finished getting over being sick, but she felt so tired. She figured having her blood sucked till she passed out wasn’t helping anything either. With a sigh, she lets herself drift off to sleep. The last thought she had before going completely under was she hoped that Yui is the one to find her rather than Ayato or Reiji.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you guys enjoy! :D There is a bit of a lime at the first of this.

She knew it was nothing more than a dream, but it certainly didn’t feel like it. Despite her eyes being closed, she knew who was there with her. Cold hands slowly work their way down the sides of her feverish body, sending a pleasant shiver down her spine. The cold felt good against her skin, but the frustratingly slow pace was starting to drive her crazy. A familiar chuckle seems to echo in her ear, but, instead of sending a jolt of irritation through her, it sends a pleasant thrill through her core. Unable to stop herself from shuddering, she lets herself enjoy the feeling. Cold fingers suddenly ghost teasingly over her opening, causing her to let out a strangled noise. Her fingers dig into his shoulders, though she wasn’t quite sure when she had grabbed him. In fact, she didn’t really know when his hands had left her sides. Once again, his cold fingers ghost over her, effectively distracting her. She lets out a frustrated growl when they leave her unfulfilled, and she lifts her hips a little in an attempt to get him to show more attention in that area.

 

Once again, he chuckles against her skin, causing a shudder of excitement to race down her spine. His cold body presses against hers. Sadly, he’s still wearing pants, so she doesn’t get the full benefit of his body cooling hers. She reaches out with shaking fingers and hooks them along the waistline of his pants in an effort to take them off, but a cold hand catches them. Before she knows it, her hands are pinned above her head. Goosebumps form over her skin when he makes a ‘tsk’ing noise against the skin of her neck. His nose brushes along the skin slowly, and she has to grit her teeth to keep from making an embarrassing whimpering noise. His voice is a coo when he says, “Now, now. Don’t rush things. We need to take our time and enjoy.”

 

“Don’t tease,” she practically gasps out. She shifts her body once again, but he just moves further away from her. She tilts her head back and lets out a groan of pure frustration. That groan turn into a moan of pleasure when his lips slowly kiss their way up from her collarbone to her chin. She tries to tilt her head toward him in order to get a kiss in, but he chooses that moment to press the bulge between his legs against her. She shudders and releases yet another moan. It made her longing for more even worse. Her back arches more each time he teasingly presses his hips to hers. Her head leans back, and she squeezes her eyes tightly shut. Finally, she feels like she is about to snap. She forces her body to relax, and she decides to beg him to just get on with the show. Her eyes open to meet amused green eyes that have a hint of lust glazing them. Her breath catches in her throat, and she finds herself completely speechless. A flash of his sharp fangs has her opening her mouth to call his name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Her eyes snap open again. To her absolute horror, her gaze is met with an amused green gaze. Her face flushes, since she could still vividly remember what she had been dreaming about. In fact, she could still feel his cold hand on her body. She wanted to reach up and cover her likely beet red face, but she couldn’t tear her gaze away. After a few seconds passes, and she’s becomes more aware of her surroundings. Now, she could see that it was Ayato, not Laito, who was sitting on the bed beside her. She quickly scrambles away from him and pulls her legs close. Her eyes glance around for Yui, but she finds that she’s oddly alone. Her gaze snaps back to Ayato when she hears him snickering. Dread and embarrassment fill her chest, but she tries to cover it up by scowling at him. Unfortunately, it has the opposite effect. His laughter just seems to grow even more mocking. His elbow rests on his knee, with his chin in his hand. He makes a soft ‘tsk’ing noise that makes her feel like slapping him. Finally, she snaps by asking, “What?!”

 

“How shameful. Dreaming something so dirty in a friend’s bed,” he playfully says. She was sure it wasn’t the first time, but she could clearly see the similarities between Laito and Ayato. They didn’t just look similar; they acted alike, too. She scoffs and waves a hand in front of her face, as if that would clear away his accusation.

 

“As if, I was having a nightmare,” she calmly states. His eyes narrow, but it’s clear that he’s enjoying this more than she thought he had a right to. She opens her mouth to change the subject, but Ayato interrupts her.

 

“You weren’t having a nightmare. I’d say it was a perfectly great dream.”

 

Mortification completely fills her entire body, and she immediately starts to shake her head. “That’s a lie! I didn’t like the person in my dream!”

 

He starts to laugh again. Now she’s positive that her face is a dark shade of red. In fact, she’s sure that she’s blushing so hard that it isn’t only her face that is red anymore. It only gets worse when he wraps his arms around his stomach and tips over onto his side. She reaches back, grabs a pillow, and swings it at his face. Unfortunately, he somehow notices and manages to knock the pillow out of her hand. Her voice reaches a level that she never thought possible. “Shut…..Shut up!!!”

 

This just makes him laugh even harder. She can only gape at him in silence. Finally, he manages to get himself reigned in. Once his laughing fit starts to quiet, she finally drags her eyes away from his face. Just the sight of his green eyes and red hair is enough to give her unpleasant memories. She closes her eyes and releases a sigh. The bed shifts, and her eyes open to gaze back at Ayato. Unfortunately, he is closer than before. In fact, his face is only inches from her own. She lets out a surprised sound and scoots back a little more. She flinches when pain laces up her ankle, but she tries to not let it be the focus of her attention. Upon seeing the flinch of pain, Ayato’s playful grin turns into a sadistic one. Anger starts to heat her stomach, and she tries to use it as strength. “Don’t any of you know the meaning of boundaries? Or personal space?”

 

He lets out a scoff before sadistic playful look takes over his face again. He leans back and says, “You don’t seem to have any issues with Laito getting in your ‘boundaries’. From the looks of the wound on your wrist, you let Shuu bite you, too. I don’t think you understand the meaning of boundaries.”

 

He snickers at the horrified look on her face. She quickly says, “I don’t know what you are talking about! I didn’t let Shuu bite me! He just did it on his own, and my dream wasn’t about Laito!”

 

The smile on his face widens to show his sharp teeth. She flinches when she remembers the feel of fangs scraping along her skin and immediately looks at her lap. He makes a ‘tsk’ing sound once more, which just causes her to become even angrier.

 

“I didn’t say you had a dream about Laito,” Ayato sneers. Her eyes widen, and she desperately fights the mounting horror. She had to do or say something to change the subject. She scoots her way toward the edge of the bed. 

 

“Where is Yui?” She asks softly. A change of subject would be the easiest course of action. A cold hand wraps around her upper arm in a tight grip that borders on pain. Ayato’s voice is low in her ear. Thankfully, he doesn’t get as close as Laito usually does, so she doesn’t feel his breath against any part of them. 

 

“I’ll only tell you this once, for her sake. Be careful with that pervert. He’s…..not right in head. You’re transparent when it comes to lies, and he’s good at picking up and exploiting them.”

 

She tenses every muscle in her body. She didn’t dare look over her shoulder at him, but she has a sinking feeling that he’s telling the truth. She was careful to try and commit his words to memory. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a tendril of suspicion at his actions. It wasn’t like him to try to be helpful. The serious note in his words disappears only seconds later. “Also, you were moaning his name in your sleep, and vampires can smell arousal not only between your legs, but in your blood.”

 

Her eyes widen once more, and she aims an elbow back at him. Unfortunately, he releases her upper arm and uses that hand to plant a firm shove between her shoulder blades, effectively preventing her hitting him. Due to being on the edge of the bed, her body easily slides from the bed. She tries to catch herself with her feet, but the pain from her ankle causes her to stumble and end up in a heap on the floor. Thankfully, her skirt doesn’t hike up, though she’s not sure how she had gotten so lucky. Still, it allowed her to quickly stand without further embarrassment. She turns to give the laughing Ayato a stern look, but she decides that saying anything else would just further the terrible predicament she found herself in. She turns and quickly makes her way to the door, trying to ignore the pain in every step. Thankfully, she makes it out of the room without another word from Ayato. She’s silently grateful that she doesn’t bump into Yui either. Once the door closes, she takes a couple side steps to get away from the door, then she covers her mouth with a shaking hand and stares at the opposite wall in horror. Had that really just happened to her? Why was it Laito of all people? She didn’t know what was worse: being caught by Ayato or having a dirty dream about Laito.

 

Her back presses harder against the wall, and she slowly slides down. She’s careful to tuck her legs, so she is kneeling rather than flashing her underwear. She lifts her other hand and proceeds to cover her face. She inhales a deep, shuddering breath. There’s plenty of cute guys in her class. Why couldn’t it have been one of them? Was it due to the fact that she spent so much time with the red head? She scoffs at that thought. If that’s the case, it could have been any of the brothers. She closes her eyes, but they snap open only seconds later when she hears footsteps approaching. A soft voice calls her name, causing her to look up into concerned, red eyes. Yui’s dressed in her pajamas with wet hair. She tilts her head a little.

 

“Reiji is looking for you. I told him that you were probably at home, since you didn’t go to school. But, he keeps insisting that you are here. What are you doing here? Are you alright? You look….strange,” she softly asks. Her eyes move up to her door before she frowns and looks back down at Mai. “Did Ayato do something to you?”

 

The more she looks at Yui’s face; the more she realizes just how tired her friend truly seemed. She forces a smile onto her face and reaches out to pat the blonde on the shoulder. “I’m fine, just a little tired. I wasn’t able to make it to school, because Reiji asked for me to do something here. I accidentally fell asleep on your bed. Sorry about that. I’m going to see what Reiji wants, then I will probably head home.”

 

“You were helping Reiji?” Yui asks her curiously.

 

Mai simply nods and says softly, “I’ll have to tell you about it later. I need to find Reiji before he gets even more upset at me.”

 

The thought makes Mai flinch. Yui gives her a smile and swoops down to hug Mai. A lump forms in her throat, and she returns the hug. She hated to lie to her friend, but she didn’t want to have to explain exactly why Ayato had been teasing her. She quickly clears the lump away by swallowing hard and says, “Hey, tomorrow is the weekend, right? Why don’t we do something? Catch up without the obnoxious idiots interrupting us? We’ll sneak out during the day and be back before they notice.”

 

Yui pulls away. A look of excitement lights her face. Without any sort of hesitation, she nods, but she suddenly seems to think better of it. She clears her throat and says, “If you don’t mind, there is something I’d really, really like to do.”

 

Mai gives her friend the best reassuring smile she can muster. “Sure thing.”

 

The look of excitement returns to Yui’s face. Relief floods over Mai, and she closes one eye and lifts a finger to her lips. She playfully says. “But it’ll be a girl’s day out. No boys allowed!”

 

Both girls laugh before Yui tells Mai goodnight and disappears into her room without another word. Mai silently wonders what Yui’s wants to do tomorrow, since she didn’t actually mention anything. With a shrug, her mind shifts to preparing herself to face Reiji. She honestly just wants to go home, but she doesn’t think it’s possible aside from walking,l and she didn’t really relish the thought of once again trekking all the way back to town. She wouldn’t have a ride for at least a few more hours while her parents are working. With a sigh, she lets her head hang low for a moment and forces herself to relax. Thankfully, she is able to clear her mind by focusing on her breathing. With renewed resolve, she decides to face Reiji and whatever punishment he had in mind. She slowly climbs to her feet and uses the wall to slowly make her way toward what she assumes is his bedroom, though it was more like wandering around, since she had no idea where his room is actually located.

 

“Are you okay?” She lets out a startled cry and turns to face an annoyed looking purple haired vampire. “Could you please not scream so loudly?”

 

Her heart sinks to the bottom of her feet. She doesn’t like having to deal with Laito, but she would if the need arose. Kanato’s a completely different matter. She knew for a fact that she doesn’t want to deal with him. The annoyed look slides off his face when his eyes drop to her foot. She swallows hard and says softly. “I’m fine.”

 

His gaze snaps up to meet hers, causing her heart to skip a beat. He grips his teddy bear even tighter and says coldly. “It is rude to blatantly lie to someone who is trying to help you. Do you think I’m stupid?”

 

The last few words are spoken in a watery voice. In fact, tears are starting to well in his beautiful, purple eyes. Panic sets in, and Mai finds herself unconsciously moving closer to the purple haired vampire. She’s careful to make her voice soft without actually cooing at him like she would a child. “Oh, no! Please don’t misunderstand! I didn’t intend to lie. I was… I was just…. Oh, Kanato. I just didn’t want you to worry. It’s nothing more than a sprained ankle. It’ll be better before long. So, please don’t worry about it!”

 

She forces a pleasant smile onto her face. Thankfully, he returns it with a small smile of his own. It only lasts a moment, before he gives her a look of concern. He vaguely gestures to her foot. “Does it hurt?”

 

She opens her mouth to say no, but she stops herself once she remembers the teary eyed look from before. She slowly closes her mouth and settles for simply nodding. A thoughtful frown passes over his face, and he tilts his head to the side slightly. The silence starts to stretch, but she was unwilling to actually be the one to break it. Suddenly, he reaches out to intertwine his fingers with hers. She barely suppresses the urge to shake his hand off. Unfortunately, he seems to catch onto her inner struggle. His eyes fill up with tears once more. Contrary to the teary look, his hand starts to squeeze hers to the point of pain, so she isn’t able to actually feel any sort of guilt. His voice is barely audible. “Do you not to want me to touch you? Have I done something to offend you?”

 

She opens and closes her mouth a couple of times before quickly shaking her head. He still doesn’t loosen his grip, though. She forces a smile on her face and gives his hand a gentle squeeze back. Thankfully, that seems to be the right thing to do. A smile returns to his face, and his hand relaxes enough that she can start to feel her fingers again. He steps closer to her than she is comfortable with, and a look of concern spreads over his face. He mutters softly. “Will you come with me?”

 

A sense of danger washes over Mai the second he asks that question. She has a feeling that it won’t end well for her if she follows Kanato anywhere. She frantically searches for some sort of excuse that he might actually believe. Finally, she finds one that might work. She gives him her best apologetic smile and says, “I’d love to, but I’m sorry. I can’t. Reiji is expecting me, then I have to get home to my parents. I can’t be gone a second….day…..”

 

Her voice trails off when she sees a look of anger pass over his face. Her breath halts in her throat, and she frantically tries to think of something to keep him from having a tantrum and harming her. She knew it’s risky, but she decides to go with it. “Hey, Kanato? I do need some help though, if you don’t mind! I don’t remember where Reiji’s room is, and, well, it hurts to walk. I could really, really use your help. Then we can catch up on all the stuff we’ve missed in each other’s lives! If you help me, I’ll bring you something sweet to eat the next time I’m here, or, you can come home with me today. My parents will likely be home by the time I get home, and my mom’s been on this baking kick lately, so we have a lot of spare sweets.”

 

Mai playfully rolls her eyes before giving Kanato and encouraging smile. His eyes narrow at her, causing her heart to skip a beat. Was he not going to take her bait? She tries to keep herself from shaking, but she’s starting to think that she’s failing. Just when she’s about to give up hope, he says, “I am not a child that you can bribe with sweets.”

 

Her heart feels like it literally stops. She can only stare at him in absolute horror. Her mind frantically rushes over everything that she said, but she couldn’t figure out where she had gone wrong. He suddenly leans closer to her. Teddy presses against her arm. The material felt good against her skin, since it was as soft as she imagined it to be. Despite being the only source of contact aside from their hands, her breath still stops completely. With a frown, Kanato says. “Laito and Ayato always take things away from me. I want a turn with the toy. I don’t want just sweets and a pat on the back.”

 

She takes the cue from him and asks softly, “What do you want?”

 

A charming smile spreads over his face. He leans those last few inches. His head hovers dangerously close to her neck, but she didn’t dare flinch away. In fact, she’s holding her breath in order to keep as still as possible. The last thing she wants to do is needlessly provoke him. He chuckles softly before pulling back. “You smell interesting now. I want you to offer me some of your blood, like you have done the others.”

 

She finds herself speechless. She never offered anyone her blood! She considers telling him no. Unfortunately, the small, sadistic smile on his face keeps her from flat out denying him. She licks her bottom lip, hoping to find a way out. To her dismay, his eyes watches her tongue move, and a sense of unease wells up inside her. She has to do something soon in order to get away. An idea occurs to her, and she decides to run with it. She forces herself to smile and tilts her head to the side just a little. “How about we see how you feel after you try my mom’s baking? If you still want more, than we can talk about it. Sound like a deal?”

 

He tilts his head with an innocent look on his face. For a brief moment, Mai believes that he’s going to demand that she give him blood immediately. Her unease only gets stronger when he simply agrees to her terms. She couldn’t help but feel that he has something up his sleeve. He lifts their joined hands together and presses the back of her hand against his cold cheek. His eyes lock with hers and a chill runs down her spine. He offers her a kind smile, but it does nothing to ease her wariness of him. He lets their hands drop and says almost happily. “Reiji’s room is this way.”

 

He doesn’t wait for her to respond. Instead, he spins on his heel and jerk on her hand hard. She finds her body being pitched forward and quickly takes a few pain filled steps forward. Despite herself, tears well up in her eyes. Another tug has her stumbling even more. Only this time, she actually trips, and her knees scrape the floor. She lets out a soft hiss of pain, and she jerks on Kanato’s hand, though he had already turned around. She glares up at him only to find that he’s watching her with an amused expression. He tilts his head. Despite the innocent look, he asks sadistically, “Do I need to carry you? I didn’t realize that you were so klumzy.”

 

Anger ignites in the pit of her stomach, but she doesn’t get a chance to voice her frustration. Just as she opens her mouth to snap at him, another voice cuts through the hallway from behind her. “Ah, there you are, Sweetheart. I’ve been looking for you.”

 

She doesn’t get a chance to look in his direction. His arms simply appear around her stomach, and he lifts her onto her feet. She wanted him to simply release her, but he keeps a loose grip around her waist. She stares at the floor in complete horror. Why did he have to appear when the memories of her dream were still fresh? She flinches. She should be more worried about the situation than her dream, but who was she kidding? She couldn’t keep her thoughts focused on the danger in front of her. She could only think about the fact that she didn’t think she would ever be able to face him again. She snaps back to reality when Kanato’s face appearing inches from hers with a frown. “I don’t think she wants to go with you, Laito. She looks like she is about to cry.”

 

Mai’s entire body tenses, and she feels her face flush. She considered glancing over her shoulder to look at Laito, but she found that she didn’t have the courage to do so. Kanato’s purple eyes shift from Mai’s face to Laito’s when the redhead playfully says. “Kanato, this is my toy. Go play with your dolls.”

 

Anger clouds Kanato’s face, causing dread to fill Mai’s stomach. She has a feeling if this continued, she would be the one caught in the middle. She didn’t really want to be the one they played tug of war with. She opens her mouth to say something, but she stops when Kanato angrily says. “I don’t care! She promised to give me sweets if I helped her!”

 

Even though it shouldn’t come as a surprise, it still shocks her to see his eyes fill with tears so easily. Furthering her surprise, she feels Laito stiffen against her back. The air seems to become thick with tension. She swallows hard and wiggles in Laito’s arms. Unfortunately, the movement seems to snap their attention back to her. She clears her throat and says, “We can invite Yui and Ayato, too! Won’t that be fun? We can stay up late and watch movies or do our homework.”

 

A puff of air beside her ear makes her flinch away. She glances back to find an amused look on Laito’s face. He turns his gaze toward Kanato. “What do you think, Kanato?”

 

She turns her gaze back to Kanato, who has Teddy lifted up to his face. She isn’t sure, but she believes he looks thoughtful. Finally, he slowly nods, and his eyes lock with Mai’s. His voice is muffled by Teddy. “Fine.”

 

He disappears, allowing the tense muscles in Mai’s body to relax. She releases a breath she didn’t even know she was holding. Unfortunately, her relief is short lived. She is suddenly spun around to face Laito. Her foot sends a jolt of pain up her leg, causing her to close her eyes and flinch. Once the pain is gone, she finds that she didn’t want to open her eyes to face him, but she kept seeing her dream replay over and over behind her eyelids. She reluctantly opens her eyes. His amused face appears only inches in front of her face. In fact, his nose was almost touching hers. Without a second thought, she says, “You look a lot like Ayato.”

 

She instantly regrets saying that, since the amusement literally disappears from his face. A cold look takes it’s place, causing her heart to skip a beat. She frantically looks for something to say, but the silence continues to stretch. She jumps when she hears a throat being cleared behind her. She gratefully glances over her shoulder, only to have her hopes die all over again. Reiji is standing a short distance away with his arms crossed over his chest. There’s a stern look on his face. Her body lurches forward, and she glances back to find that Laito’s gone. She mutters softly, “Coward.”

 

“He’s not the problem. It was reported to me that you not only didn’t get Shuu up in time for school, but neither of you even attend school.”

 

She releases a slow sigh and takes a moment to calm herself before she turns to face Reiji. She doesn’t give him time to say anything more. She just leaps into what had happened before school started. To her surprise, she watches a small smile spread over Reiji’s face when she tells him about the ice water. It helps to cement the idea that Reiji did not like his older brother at all. She suddenly feels bad for Shuu. Once she finishes explaining how she decided to just give up, Reiji releases a sigh. He lifts his hand to push up his glasses. His eyes drift closed, and he sternly says. “Next time, do not baby him by getting him clothes. Do whatever you must to wake him up.”

 

The first part of the sentence is the only part that she truly hears. She finds herself staring at him in disbelief. Finally, she stutters out. “N...next t….time? What are you talking about?”

 

He releases a sigh, as if she was truly bothering him. He opens his eyes to give her a cold look. “As punishment for skipping school without authorization, you are to take my place in getting Shuu to school; however, I will find a more….severe punishment should you baby him again.”

 

She wants to argue that she doesn’t want to spend another day getting Shuu up for school, but she realizes a different issue. She swallows hard, not quite sure if she wanted to know the answer. She tells herself that it’s better to know than to guess. If she messed up again, it would lead to an even worse punishment than dealing with the lazy blonde. She asks softly, “So am I going to have to arrive here before I go to school?”

 

Reiji gives her a disgusted look. She flinches, almost feeling stupid for asking such an obvious question. The disgusted look melts away into his emotionless mask, making her believe he had let her see it. “I can offer you a choice. You can wake up earlier and come here to do your punishment, or you can simply stay here during the week.”

 

She briefly wonders how long she would be forced to do this, but she didn’t want to waste time on worrying about something that she couldn’t control. Her thoughts quickly turn to her choice. Waking up early is looking better and better. Instead of answering, she glances at her feet. It’s probably better to pretend to think it over. She must have taken too long, since Reiji releases an annoyed sigh. He coldly says, “It seems that you need instruction on asking more in depth questions, before you agree to something.”

 

She clenches her fists and lifts her eyes to send a frustrated glare at him. She should have just told him that she wanted right off the bat. Unfortunately, he doesn’t let her inform him of her choice. He simply says, “You stay at home, you will continue with your normal routine. The only difference is that you will leave your house an hour before school is to start. You will arrive here, attempt to wake up that good for nothing, then you will go to school with us. Should you choose to remain here, you will need to ask permission from your parents. However, you will no longer meet with your tutor. I will be here to instruct you where and when you need it. You will get more sleep. As stated before, you will go to school with us.”

 

Her head feels like it’s being torn apart. There’s no way she plans to willingly stay at their manor. In fact, she’s positive her parents would never agree to it, but the thought of not having to deal with the annoying tutor and extra sleep is tempting. She shakes her head slowly. She’d be closer to Laito and Kanato, so she wouldn’t be able to actually relax. If she stayed home, she’d be able to relax to some extent, and she’d only have to go to school with them. She reaches up to press her fingers against her forehead. Here she thought she had it all figured out, but it turns out she didn’t. “Ummm…. Can I think about my answer and get back to you on Monday?”

 

“That is acceptable. Now, I will tell you how your punishment will work. If you get Shuu to school every day this month, you will be released from your duty. If you fail one day, I will add another month onto your punishment. For now, you are free to leave at anytime. The car is out front.”

 

He disappears before she even has a chance to say anything more. She finds herself standing in the middle of the hallway completely alone. With a sigh, she lets her head hang for a few minutes. She jumps when something brushes her shoulder, and her gaze snaps up to find nothing in the hallway with her. She releases a sigh, turns, and limps her way back to Yui’s door. She lifts her hand to knock softly on Yui’s door. She hears shuffling before, thankfully, the blonde opens the door. Guilt fills Mai’s chest when she sees how tired her friend looked, and she considers not asking her friend for a favor. The thought of spending alone time with Kanato and Laito sends a wave of determination over her. She didn’t know if Yui would be any help, but at least she wouldn’t be alone. She softly asks. “Hey, why don’t you and Ayato come over to my house today?”

 

She gives Yui her best pleading look. Her friend’s eyes widen, and she opens and closes her mouth a couple times. Mai quickly and quietly gives Yui the rundown about what had happened. The more she tells Yui; the paler she becomes. Finally, Yui nods and disappears back into her room without another sound. With a sigh of relief, Mai decides that it’s time to leave. That’s when a cold feeling washes over her. She slowly looks down at her feet with a growing sense of dread. She isn’t wearing her shoes, and she didn’t remember grabbing them out of Shuu’s room. She closes her eyes and releases a groan. She lets herself lean against the wall for a few minutes, while she works up her courage to make her way back to the blond vampire’s room. She isn’t sure what she’s really worried about. She could likely just slip in and back out without getting a single word from him. With that in mind, she finally limps her way toward his room. Her dread continues to grow with each step.

 

Luckily, she’s able to slip into his room and get her shoes without a single sound from him, just like she thought she would. The second she is about to leave, she hears him mutter something under his breath. She glances back to see a look of pain flash over his face. He rolls onto his side facing away from her, and she’s positive that he’s saying something else, but she was too far away. Her gaze remains locked with his back, and she silently wonders if she should try to wake him. It was clear that his body was tense, so she could only assume he was having a nightmare. She flinches when that thought crosses her mind, and she proceeds to slip out. She wasn’t able to wake up the eternally tired vampire for school, so she didn’t think it would be productive to try to wake him up now. Unfortunately, guilt starts to gnaw at her the second she shuts his door. She attempts to ignore it by sitting beside it and putting the shoe on her good foot. She slowly peels the sock off her wounded ankle to find that it was lightly bruised and still swollen. With a sigh, she carefully puts her sock back on. She didn’t bother with her other shoe though. She figured that it would be too painful. With a deep breath, she slowly moves to stand and starts down the hall once more, carrying her shoe. The sooner she got this nightmare over, the better.

 

Thankfully, she runs into Yui on the way to the car. With Yui’s help, and ignoring Ayato’s jabs, they make it to the front door with the least amount of pain possible. Somehow, Mai is able to simply brush off Yui’s questions about how she got injured. Her heart sinks at the sight of the limo. She flinches when the thought crosses her mind that she should probably be excited to actually ride in one, but she found that hard to do. Those type of vehicles caught everyone’s eye, so discretion was going to be even harder to achieve. Despite all the space in the limo, Laito insisted on sitting beside her. To make it even worse, he was lightly pressing his body against hers. His arm rests on the back of the seat behind her. Directly across from her, Yui tries her hardest to make small talk, but it’s hard to focus on what she’s saying with Ayato sending her teasing smirks. He even went so far as to make a few vague gestures that caused Mai to flush so many times that Yui asks if she is ok, which only furthered her humiliation. This just served to amuse Ayato more. Mai had a feeling that Ayato is going to use this to his advantage. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Kanato moving. He was keeping to himself, despite Yui’s efforts to get him talking.

 

Finally, they make it to Mai’s house. She is the first out of the limo. She tries her best to ignore the pain, while she rushes up toward her door. There’s no way that she was going to let any of the brothers get to her house first. She has a feeling they will just let themselves in. She also doesn’t want Yui to be there first either, since her parents still disapprove of her friendship with the girl. Her footsteps slow when she notices that their cars aren’t parked in the driveway. Her gaze moves back to the door. Maybe her parents were working over time. If her parents weren’t here yet, she could get her “visitors” in and out quickly. She pauses at the door and glances over her shoulder.

 

That turns out to be a mistake when something cold brushes past her. Her gaze snaps back around just in time to see Kanato disappearing through her now open front door. Her heart skips a beat, and she rushes after him. Why didn’t her parents lock the door?

 

“Wait, Kanato!”

 

She reaches out to grab him, but he stops so suddenly that she runs into his back. His elbow lands in her ribs, effectively winding her, and she quickly steps away from him. She was about to cast a glare toward him, but movement out of the corner of her eye sends her heart racing and causes her to turn to look. Her heart sinks upon seeing two men sitting at her kitchen table. One she clearly recognizes as Tougo Sakamaki, but the other one she’s positive she has never seen in her life. His long hair is a strange greenish black color that got lighter towards the ends. She can’t see his outfit clearly, but he is dressed in black. His red eyes drift over both her and Kanato without much interest. In fact, he gives the same look to all of the brothers. It’s not until Yui appears from behind Ayato that he actually gives a reaction. Mai isn’t quite sure how to describe the look, since it looks like he is gazing at Yui with love and devotion, but it disappears so suddenly that she seconds guesses if she ever saw it in the first place.

 

She doesn’t get much of a chance to think about it, since cold arms wrap around her body. Her face presses into a chest, and she feels every muscle in her body tense. Lips affectionately brush the top of her head, but the body disappears from hers before she has a chance to even struggle. Her gaze snaps up to meet Tougo’s smiling face. She unintentionally cringes away from him, but he stops her by putting his hands on her shoulders. His voice is almost like velvet to her ears when he says. “Hello, my dear. I trust that you are doing well?”

 

Mai finds herself nodding, before she even has a chance to think. He gives her another smile, but it’s quickly replaced by concern. “I came to speak to you before your parents arrived home. I was contacted by a wonderful woman regarding your home life. Have your parents been cruel to you?”

 

His cold fingers brush along her forehead. She flinches at the feeling. She isn’t even sure when his hand left her shoulder, and she didn’t appreciate the “affection” he was displaying. She attempts to step away, but the hand still on her shoulder gives a small squeeze. She tenses once more, and her gaze locks with his. He’s still smiling, but she had a feeling that he is warning her against stepping away. His face leans closer to hers, but she finds herself unable to move anymore. She isn’t sure if it is something he is doing or if it’s simply the fear coursing through her body. His voice is barely audible. “Have they hurt you?”

 

Her mouth felt insanely dry. She wants to tell him no, but she can’t even make a sound. His smile just seems to grow. Her eyes widen, and she feels like shoving him away. Unfortunately, all she manages to do is give a small shake of her head. An arm appears over her free shoulder. It crosses over her chest and tucks beneath the arm his hand is resting on. With a savage jerk, she is pulled out of Tougo’s grip into a solid body. She didn’t know why, but it feels like a large weight is lifted off her body. Still, her gaze locks with his. A look of interest passes over his face, but it’s gone only moments later. She feels the arm squeeze her, and she wants nothing more than to look back to see who is saving her, but she finds herself unable to do anything more than just shake in their grip. Tougo’s smile changes, when his gaze moves over the crowd gathered together. He literally disappears from his spot. Mai jumps, but she’s not sure why. She’s sure she has gotten use to seeing that happen. Her heart sinks when she sees him standing beside Yui. His fingers are playing with the tips of her hair. “I trust that you are enjoying your stay with my sons?”

 

A look of fear is plastered on Yui’s face, and Mai can clearly see that the blonde is shaking. Before she gets a chance to respond, Ayato pushes himself between Yui and Tougo. A look of pure irritation colors his face. His voice is full of contempt when he snarls. “Paws off, old man.”

 

“That is no way to speak to your father, boy,” a new voice states coldly. Mai’s gaze turns to the man still sitting calmly at the kitchen table. A look of irritation adorns his face now, but she has a sinking feeling that Ayato isn’t the only one who is causing it. She glances over to Yui, who is pressing her body against Ayato’s back.

 

“He’s not much of a father, Richter,” Ayato snaps. Mai’s gaze turns back to find a look of pure hatred on Ayato’s face. Before anyone gets a chance to respond, Tougo lets out a ‘tsk’ing sound. She feels a body press against the side opposite of Tougo. She spares a glance to find that it’s Kanato. With a flinch, she realizes that she knew it was Laito behind her all along, even if she didn’t want to admit it. Kanato’s face is a calm mask that sent chills down her spine. She could see that he is staring right at the man named Richter, so she follows his gaze. Richter seemed to just be staring uninterested at the kitchen table now..

 

“Now, now. We are all family here, are we not?” Tougo playfully asks. Mai turns his attention back to him. He isn’t giving her or anyone else much attention. His gaze is firmly locked with Ayato’s. Tension is threatening to overwhelm the room, so Mai decides it’s time to try to draw the attention away from Yui and Ayato before something happens. She softly clears her throat, but it doesn’t gain her any attention. She found that she’s relieved to not gain that terrifying gaze. With a small shake of her head, she tries again.

 

“Mr. Sakamaki, would you like something to drink?” She flinches at the sound of her own voice. It’s clear that she’s nervous and terrified. She hears Laito chuckle behind her, but she chooses to ignore it. Before she can stop herself from doing it, she leans back into the comfort Laito provides when Tougo turns his gaze toward her. She has never felt so threatened by a smile before.

 

“I’m fine. Thank you, my dear,” he coos at her. She felt like she is suffocating all over again. She silently finds herself wishing that Laito had a heartbeat. With a shake of her head, she reaches up to pull on his arm. The uncomfortable silence is starting to stretch to uncomfortable lengths, making it feel like she had to say something. She doesn’t even give it a second thought. She just starts babbling.

 

“That lady must have been the case worker. See, this is what happened. I fell out of bed and hit my head. I had a couple of other bruises that I didn’t remember getting. Well, the nurse at school saw the bruises, and you know they have to report those things. So, my parents were investigated. I guess my dropping out for that short time seemed suspicious to them. I couldn’t ask for better parents, though. I’m spoiled really, probably because I’m an only child. I don’t know why they didn’t have more kids. Maybe they just thought I was perfect? I do-”

 

The chuckle that spills from Tougo’s mouth halts her rambling. She could feel her face flushing a deep red. Her mouth snaps shut with an audible sound. Tougo is working his way back over to her, but he passes her and stops before Kanato. She isn’t sure why, but she can feel the purple haired vampire tensing beside her. Finally, Tougo turns away and walks back to the table to return sitting across from Richter. With a gesture at the green haired man, he says in a strange voice, “this is my brother Richter. I asked him to come along today to meet you and your parents, my dear. I have asked him to make his own investigations into whether your family is mistreating your or not.”

 

“But, I sa-”

 

Tougo lifts a hand, effectively halting her. He gives Mai an almost apologetic smile. He continues on as if she didn’t just interrupted him. “He’s been idle for too long. I fear that he’s been growing bored. Please allow him the courtesy of having something to do.”

 

She glances at Richter, who eyes are closed. He’s frowning as well, making it appear that he didn’t want to do this. Mai feels Laito tense behind her once again, but she doesn’t dare take her eyes away from the two men. Once her eyes shift back to Tougo, she can see an amused smile on his face. He sits a hand on the table and proceeds to lightly tap it with his index finger. He says softly, “I suppose you can think of Richter as your own personal guardian angel.”

 

Air suddenly becomes brittle. She did not want to think of some stranger as a savior, nor did she ever plan to. She slowly shakes her head, but Tougo doesn’t seem to notice. The more likely scenario is that he just doesn’t care. His voice seems to add more tension to the air. “Also, sons, a formal dance is coming up. A large company is hosting it as a way of bringing more business partners in. It’ll also allow them to silently take over a few small businesses that have been a thorn in their side. I’m invited, and I would appreciate it if you all showed up and behaved yourselves.”

 

Silence follows his words. His gaze drifts to Ayato, but it’s like he isn’t even looking at his son. Richter’s eyes snap up and turn to look in Ayato’s direction. In fact, a quick glance around reveals that every vampire is looking at her friend. That’s when she noticed a look of pain twisting Yui’s face. She’s clenching her clothes over her heart. With a jerk, Mai quickly frees herself of Laito. She hisses in pain when she steps on her wounded foot, but she manages to hurry to Yui’s side. She reaches out grabbing her friend’s upper arms. She crouches slightly in order to effectively look up into Yui’s face. Worry fills her body, and she asks softly. “Are you OK?”

 

Yui sucks in a gasping breath, but she, thankfully, manages a nod. She finally mutters out something about sitting. Mai assumes that Yui is asking to sit down, so she carefully spins her friend toward the living room. It only takes a little bit of prodding before she gets the blonde into the living room, where she hands over the tv remote and coaxes Yui to lay down. Once she is done, she slowly makes her way into the kitchen to get Yui something to drink. Just as she passes Tougo and Richter, she hears Tougo ask, “My dear, how was your ankle injured?”

 

Mai pauses, but she tries to stop herself from tensing up. She glances over her shoulder at Tougo before she reminds herself to get Yui something to drink. She returns to her task. “Reiji asked me to help him get Shuu up for school. I had only been in his room a couple times, so I had forgotten that he was a weird one that had stairs. I ended up falling down them.”

 

She grabs a glass and begins to fill it up, but a pleasant chuckle draws her attention back to him. An amused look appears on his face, so she stops pouring the juice she had decided on. His voice is low, but it seems almost reprimanding. “No one has offered to heal you?”

 

Mai opens and closes her mouth a couple of times. Finally, she shakes her head and forces a smile to her face. “I didn’t know anyone could heal me, besides I ask for any help. It’s nothing more than a sprain, so it’ll be practically healed before school starts up again on Monday.”

 

Tougo lets out a soft sigh. Mai flinches when he appears before her. He reaches out to pat her on the top of her head like she’s a small child. “It won’t do to have my employee’s child injured due to my sons’ carelessness. I do have a reputation to uphold, after all.”

 

His hand lands on her head, and a warm feeling fills her entire body. She isn’t sure exactly what happens, but she finds herself leaning against the counter. His hand slowly makes it’s way down the side of her head before it disappears around her jaw area. She opens her eyes feeling completely unnerved by the fact that she felt no pain in her body, whatsoever. Tougo’s shoulder is inches from her face, causing her to tense up. His voice is low in her ear. “Keep the bride entertained, and things will continue to go well for your family. She is transitioning much better with a distraction.”

 

It feels like everything stops working in her body. She finally manages to jerk away from the politician. Just when she thinks she is free, he reaches out to ruffle her hair. She flinches, but he just smiles and turns to face Richter once more. His voice is back to it’s normal level. “Richter, I trust this young girl’s wellbeing to your care. After all, she’ll help you keep close to your beloved, will she not?”

 

Confusing fills Mai’s body. Upon hearing a clattering sound, she turns her attention to find Richter standing with a look of fury on his face. The look he casts Mai’s direction causes her blood to feel like ice. He disappears from view only moments later. She has a feeling that her life just got even more complicated. She vaguely hears Tougo saying goodbye to his sons. She’s finally snapped out of her thoughts when purple fills her vision. Kanato’s annoyed face is only inches from hers. She flinches and takes a step back. A look of anger floods the vampire’s face, so she quickly makes sure that Yui’s juice is still up right then hurries to the fridge. It felt so strange to not feel the sting when she walks, but she pushes the eerie feeling to the back of her mind. She would have plenty of time to worry about it later. She just manages to open the and retrieve a cheesecake when she feels Kanato pressing against her back. With a sigh, she side steps him and sets the cheesecake on the counter. She manages to somehow retrieve several different sweets from the fridge by scooting around the purple haired vampire. She gets some ice cream from the freezer and finds that her mother had made several different types of cake. Her heart skips a beat when she realizes that her mother had made shortcake for a strawberry shortcake. She returns to the fridge to retrieve strawberries and whipped cream.

 

On her way back to the counter, she tells Kanato to pick out whatever he wants to eat, and she will dish it up for him after she got Yui’s juice to her. She kicks off her other shoe and scoops up the juice without waiting for a reply. She manages to make it to Yui without incident, since every Ayato was crowding near the treats. She sits the juice down on the coffee table in front of the couch and crouches down to look at Yui. Concern fills her body once more. “Are you feeling any better?”

 

Yui offers a weak smile and sits up. She picks up the juice with a soft ‘thank you’. She only sips at it, though. Finally, she says. “It’s not the first time this has happened. Actually, it’s been happening a lot recently. I just can’t figure out what is going on. I didn’t have this problem before I started staying with Ayato.”

 

A sense of coldness washes over Mai. She softly says, “Do you think it has to do with that house? I heard some terrifying things the o-”

 

She is cut off by Kanato appearing beside her. He clenches Teddy even tighter. His voice is low, almost angry sounding, when he asks, “Are you ready to get my sweets for me?”

 

Mai and Yui stare at him in dumbfounded silence. Finally, Yui stifles a giggle, and Mai rolls her eyes before standing and returning to the kitchen. It takes some work, since Ayato and Laito make things difficult by sticking their fingers into everything. They claim they have to try it before eating it. Unfortunately, this angers Kanato, who starts yelling about how they always ruin everything of his. She barely manages to keep Kanato from breaking anything by offering him some chocolate pudding and promising to bring him sweets for a week. It somehow changes into bringing him the sweets for a month. She ends up smacking the back of Ayato and Laito’s hands a couple times, but she finally manages to get everyone’s food dished up, including her own and one for Yui. Once she is alone, she carefully covers up and returns the items to their appropriate places..

 

That’s how they found themselves sitting in the living room. Thankfully, Mai is able to secure the seat next to the armrest on the couch. Kanato sat in a chair near her, while Yui sat beside her. Ayato sits on the other side of Yui. Laito was occupying a chair on the opposite side of Ayato.

 

“Let’s watch a horror movie!” Ayato yells.

 

“No! Please!” Yui begs. Ayato scoffs and wraps Yui in a headlock, causing Mai to have to save Yui’s desserts from falling. Yui argues that she wants to watch something like a romantic comedy, but Ayato proceeds to call her names. Mai attempts to help her friend, but a scream on tv causes her to jump. She turns in time to see someone being brutally murdered on tv before the name of the show appears over the screen. The sound Yui makes let’s her know that time is going to feel like it’s crawling along. Still, she can’t help feeling thrilled that they are watching horror movie. It had been so long, since she had last watched one.

 

___________________________________________________________________

 

She slowly opens her eyes. The tv is loudly rolling the credits of some movie that she didn’t remember seeing. She shifts in an attempt to get into a more comfortable position. Unfortunately, that’s when she notices something in her lap. She looks down to find Laito’s head resting on her thigh. Her brain instantly wakes up, and she tenses. She glances around to find that she sitting on the floor, and she is leaned back against the couch. The coffee table is gone, allowing her legs to stretch out. Something bumps into the back of her head, drawing her attention that way. To her surprise, Yui is stretched out just behind her on the couch. An arm slung over her friend’s waist lets her know that Ayato is likely laying behind her. Mai carefully shifts, so she can look around the room. Her other leg bumps into something, and she turns to find Teddy laying beside her. Her heart skips a beat when she notices that Kanato’s arm is loosely wrapped around his teddy bear. He’s curled up on the opposite side. Mai’s breath catches in her throat the longer she observes his sleeping face, and she turns her gaze back to Laito.

 

How can they look so innocent when they clearly aren’t? She glances over her shoulder, but all she can see is a tuft of red hair. Yui looked completely relaxed though. She shifts a little more when the reason she woke up surfaces. She glances back to find that Laito is still sleeping soundly in her lap. Making sure to be careful, she slips her hand under his head and gently lifts it just enough to start to slowly wiggle her leg out. She slides a little bit more toward Kanato, but she accidentally bumps into the Teddy. She freezes when she hears Kanato mutter something, and Teddy disappears. She glances over to find that he had simply rolled onto his other side. A flood of relief fills her body. She now had the room she needed to get out from under Laito. She carefully returns to slipping out. She breaths a soft sigh of relief once she is able to finally put his head down. Thankfully, he is sleeping on his back, so it doesn’t put his neck at a strange angle that might wake him up. Mai quickly and quietly gets to her feet. She makes her way down the hallway to use the bathroom. Once she is done, she makes her way to her room to gather up three blankets. Despite know that the house is warm it still felt cold to her. Mai feels a shudder run down her spine. She makes her way back to the living room, where she covers Ayato and Yui with one. She is careful while covering both Kanato and Laito with their own blankets. She makes her way to the kitchen and retrieves herself a piece of cake. A grin spreads over her face when she takes the first bite. If her mother saw this, she wouldn’t be happy.

 

Cold realization spreads over her. Her parents would never allow boys to sleep over. Her eyes turn to the stove, and her heart sinks even further. It’s six p.m. Had her parents even come home? She sets the half eaten cake on the counter and hurries to check her parents room. She kept telling herself that her parents had came home, but they had been too tired to see the group of teens sleeping in the living room.

 

“Mai?” a sleep filled voice calls from the bottom of the stairs. Mai freezes with her foot on the last stair and glances back down. Yui was rubbing her eye with the back of her hand. “May I use your restroom?”

 

Mai stares at her friend for a moment. Once she realizes what Yui was asking, she quickly gives her friend directions on where to go. Yui mutters something that sounds like a thank you. Mai watches the blonde until she is out of view, then she turns to continue on her way to check on her parents. Unfortunately, a tired face appears in her view, causing her to jump. She has to crane her head back to look up into the purple eyes of Kanato. He looks like he just woke up, which serves to highlight his child-like features. It’s further enhanced by the death grip that he has on Teddy. His voice is barely audible when he says, “I’m thirsty.”

 

Mai’s heart skips a beat, and a tendril of fear races down her spine, but she quickly shoves it to the back of her mind. Trying to keep her voice soft, she says, “OK. Well, it’s technically morning for us, so we have some milk. I’m sure there is a couple different types of juice, too.”

 

He doesn’t respond with words, but his expectant look gives her all the information she needs. She tries to glance around him. She just wants to check on her parents. The words are out before she can stop herself. “Help yourself to any of them.”

 

Her eyes shift back to his face to find he had buried his face in Teddy, which Mai took as a warning sign. Everything becomes deathly silent. In fact, Mai’s positive that she’s not even breathing at that point. Finally, Kanato asks, “Is this how you were raised to treat guests?”

 

Despite her frustration and fear, Mai forces a smile to her face. She slowly shakes her head, but she’s careful to not take her eyes off of the vampire before her. The last thing she wants is to be pushed down the stairs. She carefully retreats back a step. “You’re right. I’m sorry. How about you tell me what you want to dr-”

 

“You’re running away,” he coldly states, causing Mai to tense. She had retreated a few more stairs for a total of four stairs between them. She starts to shake her head, but Kanato cuts her off. “I want something sweet to drink.”

 

Mai nods and takes another step down. Hot chocolate would likely be the best, and it’d be quick to make. Her luck quickly runs out. Yui returns from the bathroom and calls out Mai’s name. Despite herself, Mai turns her head to look at her friend. Yui’s mouth opens to ask, “Did you sti-”

 

A look of horror spreads over her face. Mai’s sure that she had said something, but it’s drowned out by the sound of Mai’s heart pounding. Her gaze snaps back to find Kanato’s face inches from hers. His voice is the only other sound she can hear. “I don’t want to be kept waiting. I’m thirsty.”

 

Mai instinctively reaches out to grab the handrail, believing that Kanato is about to shove her down the stairs. Amusement flashes over his face, and he leans back to laugh. Mai’s entire body shakes, and she tries to process the fact that he hasn’t done anything cruel to her yet. She jumps when two arms snake around her from behind, and she immediately starts to try to pull away. Cold realization sets in that she had nowhere to go, since Kanato is leaning in from in front of her with Laito holding her from behind. Desperate, she says, “Wait, wait, wait!”

 

Unfortunately, it doesn’t do what she hoped it’d do. Her next thought is to do something drastic. Maybe if she dropped her weight, she could lift her legs enough to kick off Kanato and shove Laito backwards down the stairs. The thought makes her cringe. She’d end up hurting a lot longer than she would if she just let them bite her. Still, she didn’t know if they were going to stop at biting her. Thankfully, she’s saved by an unlikely hero.

 

“What the fuck are you two doing?” Ayato snarls from the bottom of the stairs. Kanato leans around to look at Ayato with a frown on his face. Mai closes her eyes and silently thanks Ayato. Everything is silent for a few minutes. Unfortunately, with her eyes closed, Mai’s thoughts turn to her dream. She can practically feel her face flushing, so she opens her eyes to find Kanto pouting. She barely manages to bite back the laugh. Thankfully, she’s distracted by Ayato stating loudly. “Hey, dumbass, I’m hungry! Make me some food!”

 

“Ayato!” Yui scolds. Mai can’t help but roll her eyes. She hears Ayato saying something to Yui, but it’s drowned out by Laito’s chuckling. Mai can feel it through her upper back, making her flush all over again. She shifts awkwardly and reaches down to tap Laito’s arms. Thankfully, he seems to be in a good mood today, since he lets her go. It takes a few moments, but she finds herself in the kitchen with Yui, who is making the food. Mai simply retrieves the stuff Yui said she needs. To both the girls’ relief, the boys remain in the living room. The scent of cooking food fills the kitchen, making Mai’s stomach growl. She still wants to check on her parents, but she doesn’t think she’ll safely get past the vampires, and she doesn’t relish the thought of having another fiasco on the stairs. She jumps when Yui asks, “Did you still want to have a day out, just you and me?”

 

Mai glances at the clock to see it was getting close to seven p.m. She shifts her gaze from the clock back to hopeful red eyes. Mai can’t help but smile and nod. “We’ll have to get rid of the assholes, but I think it’d be great.”

 

Yui lets out a squeal and turns to put the finishing touches on the food. The smile melts away from Mai’s face as she watches her friend. There is so much that she has to talk to Yui about, but she didn’t think she should do so in front of the triplets. She makes herself useful by setting the table. The breakfast seems to slip by without Mai noticing. Mai’s mind kept drifting from how to approach the subject she wanted to talk about to her parents. Why haven’t they woken up yet? Were they even home? She’s pulled from her thoughts when Yui declares that the boys would have to clean up since Mai and Yui cooked. Mai can’t help but laugh, when Ayato immediately sets about arguing.

 

That’s how they found themselves cleaning the mess up by themselves. Yui had managed to drive all three of them away with the threat of doing chores or leaving so Mai and Yui could do them. Silence settles between them, but it’s a comfortable one. Once they are done, Mai finds her phone, only to discover that her parents had called to tell her that they would be working over, and they would be home later that night, if they came home at all. At Yui’s request, Mai leaves the house. Yui seems to know exactly where she is going, since she is able to easily lead Mai through the still lively streets. They finally arrive at a church.

 

“This is my father’s church. I grew up here. I haven’t had a chance to come back to check on it,” Yui says. A look of longing spreads over her face, causing Mai’s heart to start aching. She decides to turn her attention to the church. Unfortunately, it looks like it isn’t being used. She doesn’t get a chance to say anything to Yui, since the blonde is already on her way toward the front door. A creepy feeling slides down her spine, and she casts a glance backwards before following. She has never viewed churches as being ominus, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad is headed their way. Yui’s voice snaps Mai out of her thoughts. “I thought someone was supposed to take the church over, but it doesn’t look like anyone has.”

 

A wave of sympathy rushes over Mai, and she doesn’t hesitate to say. “Well, you know where everything is, right? Why don’t we spend a few hours here and clean it? We’ll have it looking good again in no time!”

 

Yui casts a thankful glance at Mai. She locates the key on a keyring that Mai had never seen before and quickly opens the door before stepping in. Mai follows suit and feels as if she had been kicked in the gut. It’s darker than she thought it would be. What little light from the sun is being filtered through the pretty stained glass above the door and behind the altar, since the curtains were drawn along the windows that lined the sides. Mai glances at Yui only to find the girl gone. Goosebumps form over her arms, and she glances around for her friend. She barely manages to loudly whisper. “Yui?”

 

She jumps when the lights she hadn’t seen flicker to life above her. It allows her to see everything.There’s a thick layer of dust setting along the pews. In fact, there is a thick layer of dust coating everything in sight, even the curtains. It looked like the place hadn’t been used in years, but Mai had a feeling that wasn’t the case. Mai cringes at the thought of how long it will take to clean it all. Her eyes search for her friend just in time to see her disappear into a door behind the altar. Unsure if she should follow or not, Mai finds herself standing near the entrance awkwardly. After a few minutes of waiting, Mai shuts the door and slowly walks up the aisle toward the barely open door Yui had disappeared through. She freezes when she hears banging, then she quickens her step. Just as she is about to reach her destination, Yui appears carrying a wide variety of things to clean with.

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

They are well into cleaning, and Mai hasn’t had a chance to discuss anything with Yui yet. She didn’t know where to start. She also wasn’t able to get a word in edgewise due to Yui telling her all sorts of stories about when she was growing up. Finally, there is a lull in their conversation, and Mai jumps at the chance by picking the first question to appear in her head. “Hey, Yui?”

 

“Hm?” Is the only answer she receives. Yui is dusting off several bibles near the altar while Mai wiped down the benches.

 

“Do you think Ayato loves you?” Mai’s voice seems to echo much louder than Yui’s ever did. She straightens up and reaches up to wipe her forehead. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see that Yui has frozen with a look of pain on her face. Mai instantly regrets asking the question, but she doesn’t know how to take it back.

 

“I don’t……. I don’t really know,” Yui finally mutters. “I’d like to think he does, especially with all we have done.”

 

Mai’s heart gives a painful lurch when Yui puts the bible she was cleaning down. She turns to start wiping down the altar. Mai clears her throat and pushes herself on. “Have you been… feeling weird lately?”

 

Yui turns a curious gaze on Mai and halts completely. “What do you mean?”

 

Mai shrugs and stares at the wood before her. She plops down and leans back to look up at the ceiling. She is stumped on how to explain something she has never experienced before. Was Yui suppose to even feel anything during the transformation? Mai would assume so, but once again, she wasn’t sure. With a hard swallow, Mai weakly says. “Has Ayato been drinking from you a lot lately?”

 

Yui slowly walks down the aisle toward Mai. “Not more than usual.”

 

Mai closes her eyes and focuses on inhaling and exhaling. This isn’t how it’s suppose to go. She is suppose to be able to tell Yui about everything she has learned, and they can choose a course of action together. She hears Yui bump into the pew in front of her, but she doesn’t bother opening her eyes. She’s busy trying to figure out how to word her next question when Yui asks softly. “Is there something wrong?”

 

With a sigh, Mai opens her eyes and sits up straight. She stares at the pew in front of her intently and explains what she knew about the transformation. After she is done, she glances over to see a look of pain on Yui’s face. Mai’s heart skips a beat when she sees that Yui is clenching the area over her chest. She reaches out to touch Yui’s shoulder, but she jerks her hand back when Yui flinches away. While Mai watches, Yui’s body starts to shake, and she starts to pant. Unsure of what to do, Mai reaches for her phone. She lets out a scream when something touches her shoulder, and she snaps her gaze back to Yui’s tired crimson one. Yui offers a small smile and shakes her head. She leans back and releases a slow breath, allowing Mai to ask her if she was OK. Instead of nodding yes or shaking her head no, Yui just starts to talk. “I haven’t felt well, since we stepped foot in the church. I use to come here for comfort, and I thought that it would help. Maybe I have become too tainted.”

 

Tears were welling up in her eyes. Mai opens her mouth to say something, but Yui cuts her off by starting to tell Mai about this woman in a pretty purple dress. The more she tells Mai about the woman; the more chilling the atmosphere becomes. The woman sounded strangely like Kanato. A lump forms in Mai’s throat which is begins to making breathing hard to do. Before long, she finds herself staring at her feet. Things just felt a lot larger than she ever dreamed possible. Yui lets out a whimper, drawing Mai’s attention. Without any more hesitation, Mai quickly tells Yui about the brides and their fate, and her suspicions on what was happening to Yui. Once it comes out of her mouth, Mai realizes just how many of the pieces she is missing. Silence settles over them for a few minutes, and they each absorb what the other has said. Yui jumps up so suddenly that Mai flinches away and snaps her gaze toward the blonde. Yui takes a deep breath, and a look of resolve spreads over her face. She enthusiastically says, “Let’s finish this tonight!”

 

Mai doesn’t even get a chance to respond, since Yui is already on her way back to the altar to continue cleaning. With a sense of defeat, Mai drags herself up and resumes her cleaning. Only minutes later, Yui asks, “Do you like Laito?”

 

Mai flinches and turns her startled gaze on Yui. Unfortunately, Yui isn’t looking her way. She turns back to the cleaning and tries to think of something to say, but her face flushes, and she lets out a soft whimpering noise. She clears her throat and says. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

 

A giggle from her friend causes her scrub even harder. She has never hated Yui more than she did right now. Yui’s teasing voice only makes things worse. “Well, I just thought so, because you seem to get along with him so well.”

 

“I don’t!” Mai says loudly. She focuses on cleaning instead of looking at the blonde. She moves onto the next spot to clean.

 

“Ah, I see. He seems to like you,” Yui playfully says.

 

“It’s because he is a freak of nature. In case you didn’t know!” Mai states emotionlessly. She sends a cold look toward Yui when the girl giggles.

 

Yui playfully sticks her tongue out before asking. “Are you saying you are unlovable?”

 

Mai scoffs and playfully flips her hair back. “Of course I am unlovable!”

 

Both girls share a laugh.

 

“OK, OK. Then do you like one of the others?” Yui playfully asks. Mai lifts her gaze to look at her friend. 

 

“How old are you? Are you still in grade school?” Mai playfully asks, but all she earns is a playful look of irritation. 

 

“No, I’m just curious,” Yui says. Her voice catches Mai’s attention. She thought she had heard pain in her friend’s voice. This is confirmed by finding a look of pain on Yui’s face. With a frown, Mai realizes that Yui is trying to distract herself. While she watches, Yui presses a hand over her chest and lets out a small breath. Mai turns back to continue cleaning. It wouldn’t hurt to indulge her friend some.

 

“If you are asking if I like any of them, that’s a no. Reiji is rude and bossy. He’s scary, too. I honestly don’t know if I should even breathe around him, but I guess he’s not all bad. He does cook really well. He seems to have a hold on the household, so I guess he keeps everyone in line. He’s smart, too. Ugh, but he’s so strict. He’s cruel and inhumane. I don’t like being around him.”

 

Yui’s relieved chuckle spurs Mai to continue. She moves on to the next thing to be cleaned. “I guess I should start at the top, with the oldest. I always forget that Shuu is older than Reiji, though. Reiji just seems so much more…..responsible.”

 

“He does,” Yui quietly agrees. Both girls laugh.

 

“Seriously, though! How does one sleep as much as that lazy vampire? Is there anything good about him?” Mai playfully asks.

 

Laughter fills Yui’s voice. “You know you don’t mind him!”

 

Mai rolls her eyes and shakes her head. She reluctantly admits, “I suppose he’s not as bad as some of the others. When he’s not using me as a teddy bear.”

 

Yui erupts into hard, loud laughter. She grips her stomach tightly and ends up sinking to her knees. Mai casts her a playfully cold look before she closes her eyes and fights her own laughter. She finally manages to win when a dark thought sweeps over her. She says softly, “He’s a pervert, though. I can’t help but think that there is something dark hiding behind that laziness. He just doesn’t seem as up front about it.”

 

Silence meets her words. Several minutes go by before Yui breaks it once more. “I think you are wrong. I think he’s hurting somewhere deep down.”

 

Mai pauses right before she starts to shake the curtains to try to free the dust. She turns her gaze to look at her friend to find the pained look still on Yui’s face. Mai watches silently for a few minutes before deciding that Yui was naive, but she might have a point. With a sigh, Mai shakes the thoughts away. She turns her attention to the curtain and gives it a violent shake. She realizes her mistake much too late when a cloud of dust falls onto her head. She flinches back coughing hard. Her butt bumps into one of the pews hard, making her release a yelping sound. She twists around and blinks rapidly to try to prevent dirt from getting in her eyes. She finally flops onto the bench and continues to cough until she manages to clear her lungs. Yui had started laughing at some point and shows no sign of stopping. Mai replies by flipping her friend off. She leans back and releases a sigh. She is so worn out that she doesn’t even want to finish, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave it half done. Yui’s voice echoes eerily around the church when she says, “There is a ladder we can use to pull the curtains down, and there should be some masks back there, too.”

 

Mai flinches and looks toward her friend to find she was pointing toward the door she had entered previously. Mai reluctantly drags herself up and makes her way over to the large closet. It smelled of cleaning supplies and was decently sized. It’s clearly organized as well, so it’s easy to find the ladder and the masks. After grabbing two, Mai makes her way back out and over to the furthest curtain. She sets up the ladder just as Yui says, “You didn’t finish telling me what you think of the brothers.”

 

Mai casts a dark look Yui’s way before she starts to climb the ladder. “Well, I suppose I’ll continue on to Ayato?”

 

She glances at Yui to find her friend was now tense. Guilt swells in Mai’s chest at the various bad things that she could say, but she decides try to be gentle. “I suppose he’s pushy and rude, but I don’t think he’s a bad guy. I think he cares about you.”

 

She reaches up to carefully pull the curtain rod up. She’s surprised at how heavy it is, but she manages to wiggle the curtain off before she returns the rod. She allows the curtain to fall, creating a dust cloud. She quickly continues on to the next brother. “I guess Kanato is next? He’s…..interesting.”

 

A snort from her friend causes her to chuckle. She makes her way down the ladder and continues to move to the other side, only she grabs something to wipe the rod down with. Yui says softly, “You aren’t kidding when you say he’s interesting.”

 

Mai chuckles and climbs up the ladder. A chill races down her spine, and her gaze snaps around to look at the empty church. She feels like someone else is there, and they are watching everything the girls do. Her gaze carefully inspects each and every nook. She carefully says, “I honestly don’t know what to think about him. He’s almost as scary as Reiji, but I can’t help but feel bad when he cries.”

 

Silence meets her speech, and she glances at her friend to see that she was focused on carefully wiping down the floor around the altar. Mai gives one more glance around the church, but she still comes up empty. She slowly turns her attention to the curtains and continues up the ladder. “Laito is a conceited, rude, pervert who doesn’t understand the meaning of no. I don’t understand his way of thinking, and I have a feeling that he’s been playing at being nice to make me drop my guard.”

 

She releases the curtain and wipes the rod down as far as she can reach, and starts down the ladder. She simply continues on to the second one. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees movement. Her head snaps in that direction, and every muscle tenses. Thankfully, it’s just Yui making her way over to the fallen curtains. With a sigh of relief, she relaxes and continues her job. “Subaru is probably my favorite, though he’s a little violent. I think we could get along, but I don’t get to talk to him much, so I don’t really know him that well.”

 

Ater that, they fall into idle conversation while they try to clean as much dust as they can from the curtains. The time seems to tick by, and Yui is becoming paler by the second. Concern starts to eat away at Mai’s concentration. Finally, everything seems to happen at once. They return everything to the closet and start to leave when Yui stiffens. A look of pain flashes over her face before her gaze turns toward the window. Mai’s entire body stiffens, and she reaches out to touch her friend. A shock of cold races up Mai’s arm, making her flinch away. Yui’s gaze turns to look at Mai, causing Mai’s heart to stop completely. A look of pure terror fills her friend’s face, and Mai’s own face goes completely white. Her breath catches in her throat, and she finds herself only able to stare at her friend. A shaking hand slowly lifts to point over Mai’s shoulder. Yui’s screech echoes off the walls. “She’s behind you!”

 

Mai twists around ready to defend herself, but she finds nothing there. Confusion fills her chest, and she looks around the church. She spins back when she hears a blood chilling scream. Yui’s body goes limp and hits the floor with a loud thumping sound before Mai can even attempt to catch her. Mai finds herself kneeling beside her friend in full panic. Tears escape Yui’s eyes, and she mutters something about her father saving her. Mai reaches into her pockets with shaking hands to find her phone and lifts it to call an ambulance.

 

Everything passes in a blurr. The paramedics arrive and check on Yui. They were clearly baffled, but Yui has enough consciousness at that point to deny going with them. The adults were clearly uneasy, but they finally leave. Mai keeps begging Yui to get checked out at an actual hospital, but the blonde insists that she just needs to go home to the Sakamaki manor. The small girl is still shaking, and she couldn’t stand on her own. This just furthered Mai’s insistence that she to go to the hospital, but Mai gives up when Yui starts to try to walk toward the door. Mai finds herself helping her friend walk down the street. She doesn’t relish the thought of walking all the way to the Sakamaki’s, but Yui refuses to go anywhere else. The silence hangs heavy between them before Yui points out a shortcut. Mai reluctantly helps her down the path. Thankfully, it isn’t as wooded as she thought it would be, and the full moon helped to light the area between the trees.

 

“Mai?” Yui suddenly asks. Despite herself, Mai jumps and glances at her friend. “The moon is pretty, isn’t it?”

 

Mai’s gaze turns to look up at it. A few branches blocked her view, but she could still clearly see it. “I suppose.”

 

A shudder from the girl draws her attention back. “Maybe it’s best if you don’t come all the way to the mansion tonight.”

 

Mai freezes instantly. She could remember the moon being mentioned before. Yui stops and heavily leans on her for a moment before breathlessly saying, “Ayato told me that the moon makes him thirstier. It gives him extra powers, like flying. It drives him crazy.”

 

Mai stiffens upon hearing that. She finds herself wanting nothing more than to run. Yui’s voice becomes softer. “Did you see the woman in purple?”

 

Mai slowly shakes her head and forces herself to keep walking. She has to at least get her friend to the gates. She could stand outside and make sure that the blonde made it to the door. She glances at Yui, thankful that the color is returning to her face and that she is warm once again. Yui starts to babble about something that Mai couldn’t quite follow. They stumble onto the gates of the Sakamaki manor before Mai realizes it. She reaches out and touches the gate. A chill runs down her spine when it opens, and dread fills her stomach upon hearing the loud creak that she never noticed before. Yui’s eyes snap open. “You shouldn’t stay here.”

 

Mai simply nods, but her body tenses when she hears a chuckle behind her. She glances over her shoulder only to find purple eyes only inches from her own. She feels Yui being ripped away from her, and she turns to find the girl seemingly asleep in Ayato’s arms. Ayato casts an arrogant smile Mai’s way before disappearing. A cold hand presses over her eyes from behind, and she finds herself being pulled back into a cold body. A chuckle beside her ear causes her entire body to stiffen. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get a chance to say anything. She hears Kanato say something, but it’s lost when the world seems to spin around her. Dread fills her body. Thankfully, the spinning seems to end quicker than normal.

 

With a sickening feeling, she realizes that she’s probably just getting use to being teleported. She isn’t sure why, but she fully expects Laito to let her go like he has been doing. She expects to find herself in his room or somewhere strange again. The seconds turn into minutes without any movement from him at all. Worry starts to bubble up, and fear accompanies it. She reaches up to grab the hand over her eyes with a shaking hand. Was she wrong? Is she with Kanato? She hadn’t seen Laito there, but she hadn’t exactly been looking for him either. The second her hand touches his, a sharp pain races through every part of her body. She opens her mouth to let out a scream, but the pain is gone just as quickly as it appeared. She drops her hand in order to try to use the elbow of that arm to drive into his ribs. It doesn’t matter to her if she is able to connect or not. She just wants to fight back.

 

Her body twists awkwardly with her momentum, and she stumbles. Thankfully, she is able to maintain her balance enough to keep from faceplanting. Her eyes flicker around to find a bedroom that she has never seen before. It isn’t as large as Yui’s or any of the other bedrooms she has been in. The bed is a simple full sized bed with light blue pillows and a light blue bedspread. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get much of a chance to look around, since something on the bed had catches her eye.

 

Laito is stretched out in the center of the bed. One arm is propping up his head while he laid on his side. He gives her a playful smirk, but he doesn’t say anything. An eerie feeling spreads over her body. He’s looking at her like she’s some type of food, and he’s a starving animal. Mai slowly reaches up to where the pain had started. A small tendril of pain races through her body upon touching it. A small amount of blood greets her vision when she pulls her fingers away. She casts a frustrated glance at Laito, only to have a shiver run down her spine. His eyes were glowing a bright green. She finds her throat suddenly dry, and she unconsciously takes a step back. When he smiles at her, she catches sight of his fangs for just a few seconds, but it’s enough to make her tense her entire body. She’s happy to say that she sounds stronger than she felt when she sternly says, “That one counts as a bite.”

 

He scoff and simply flicks his hand nonchalantly. He slowly sits up and stretches his body. She wants to feel thankful that his eyes were off her, but she couldn’t muster the courage to do so. She uses this time to glance around. There’s one window, but it’s over the bed. The headboard of the bed is situated against the far wall in the exact center. The only other thing on that wall is a four drawer dresser a couple feet away from the bed. She glances over her shoulder to find that the door is directly behind her. A chair sits in one corner, and a small desk is in the other. The only other decoration is a lamp on the desk. She turns her gaze back to find that Laito is now standing, but he looks as if he is smoothing out the bedding. She begins to back toward the door. She has no intentions on saying anything until his still glowing eyes lift to meet hers. Her breath catches in her throat, but she doesn’t stop moving. “Where am I?”

 

He lets out a soft scoff and says in a cold, unfamiliar voice. “I know about your responsibility concerning Shuu. This’ll be your room if you stay with us.”

 

Mai stiffens and silently wonders if Reiji told Laito. It seems unlikely, but it appears to be the case. She clears her throat, but she’s unsure of what to say. A playful smile adorns his face. Every fine hair on her body instantly stands on end, and she freezes in place. He isn’t pursuing her like he normally did. In fact, he hasn’t moved at all. She clenches her fists and takes another step back. Her voice quakes a little when she says, “I’m not staying here.”

 

He clicks his tongue and gives her a sad look. “Is that so? I was hoping to see you more!”

 

She opens her mouth to say something, but she doesn’t get a chance. Cold hands ball up in the cloth around her shoulders, and her back collides against the door hard enough to drive the breath from her lungs. Her head hits next, and she finds herself feeling sick to her stomach. She tries to focus on Laito, but she ends up seeing double of him, which strengthens her need to vomit. Somehow, she manages to suppress the urge. The second she starts to feel better, his voice wrecks everything. “Are you planning to invite me along to play with Shuu?”

 

She narrows her eyes a little and reaches up to shove him with all her strength. “You’re disgusting! I’m not doing anything like that with him! It’s just something Reiji asked me to do!”

 

To her surprise, he allows her to successfully shove him by taking a few steps back. She ends up wasting time by standing there completely stunned. Finally, she manages to work through the haze in her mind and reach out to grab the door, but it doesn’t come as a surprise to find the knob not moving. She hears Laito closes in on her again, and fear races through her body. She knew he allowed her to hear him just to torment her. Her eyes move over to the desk, and she lunges. She barely reaches it before cold arms wrap around her waist. Her fingers quickly secure the lamp, and she twists while swinging it.

 

She fully expects him to stop it from hitting him, but to her surprise, he doesn’t. It smashes into his face, and his grip loosens. He lets out a mixed sound of pain and anger. She quickly twists her way out of his arms and rushes back to the door. She doesn’t bother looking behind her, since she’s worried it will slow her down. Her hands quickly unlock the door, and she jerks it open.

 

Seconds later, it slams shut. She attempts to twist away from the door, but cold hands wrap around her forearms, securing them in front of her body. Seconds later, pain races up her wrists. To her horror she watches him finish wrapping the lamp cord around her wrists and lower forearms. She starts to struggle, but he only lets her go once he secures the painfully tight cord. She stumbles back until something hits the back of her legs, and she finds herself sitting in the chair. Her body stiffens, and she glances at the cord. She attempts to slide her hands out, but all it does is painfully pull at her skin. She isn’t sure if she whether or not she should be relieved that the base was still attached. She decides to be relieved, since she could swing it in self defense. Her gaze lifts up to meet amused, yet angry, glowing green eyes. There is blood on his face, and his hat is missing, but he seems otherwise unfazed. His tongue slowly traces his lips, and his haunting words echo in her head.

 

“It’s time to play, Sweetheart.”


	19. Harsh Lessons 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you guys enjoy! There is some smut in this chapter. (:
> 
> Edit: it has been brought to my attention that I didn't put the trigger warning at the beginning of the chapter. I'm truly sorry! I wasn't trying to be insensitive on a serious issue. :( I was simply tired when I put it up. So, I will put what I intended to write: Similar to the games, it is not consensual.

To her mounting horror, he is slowly stalking closer to her. There's a sadistic smile on his face that just seems to grow the closer he gets. Each step sends her heart into a new frenzy. Every muscle is tense to the point of pain. She has to get away from him. He's giving her that hungry look again, and it's frightening her. Her eyes flick around her immediate area before passing over the lamp base. An idea occurs to her, and she's careful not to linger on it, since she doesn't want to give away her plan. A sense of relief washes over her. She clenches her hands together and focuses on her breathing instead of her fear. The second Laito is in range, she leaps up and swings her bound hands at his head. Just like she hoped, the base of the lamp swings along behind. Unfortunately, Laito seems to see the attack coming. Her heart stops when his hand easily catches her makeshift weapon, and she is painfully drug forward by her hands. Her body collides with his, and she only has enough time to let out a snarl before the world spins around her. Darkness invades her vision. Seconds later, she feels like she is dropped about a foot. She somehow manages to land on her feet, but she hits hard enough to ends up stumbling. Her foot catches something on the ground, and her body pitches forward. Her shoulder collides with an unseen tree, and she twists to land on her side. Pain races down her entire side and she ends up letting out a whimpering sound. She reaches up to gently prod at her shoulder while listening for any sound. Despite it being sore, she's thankful that it didn't actually break or dislocate. At least, she didn't think it did.

She's completely terrified to hear nothing but the nocturnal animals. She closes her eyes and offers a silent prayer that she will somehow make it through this without getting any more injuries, but she has a feeling this is just the opening act. She opens her eyes to only be met with the same pitch blackness. She rolls onto her back and squints her eyes. She can vaguely see small pin points of the moon shining through leaves high above her head. She flinches and wonders where she is. With a sigh, she awkwardly climbs to her feet. She can't just lay there, or some sort of dangerous wild animal might stumble upon and decide to eat her. Picking a random direction, she begins to walk.

A figurative eternity seems to crawl by. The air isn't freezing, but it isn't comfortably warm either. To make matters worse, she trips and gets caught on so many unseen things that she is bleeding from numerous small cuts. Her clothes have been torn from caught on branches. The most embarrassing fact is that she has literally walked into more trees than she cares to admit. Her lip's bleeding, and she's sure that her nose isn't much better. She also carefully avoids walking toward any sounds. The last thing she wants to do is stumble upon something that could see her, but she couldn't see it. It seems to be paying off, since she the trees were beginning to thin. She is having an easier time avoiding obstacles with the help of increased moonlight.

Finally, she steps out into what appears to be a wide meadow, only the moon is sitting on the ground. With a sinking feeling, she realizes it's not a meadow but a large pond. She carefully works her way toward the water, but the mud stops her from getting too close. Her eyes lock onto the completely still water, and she can't stop the smile from spreading over her face. Despite her circumstances, the sight of the moon reflected on the surface of the pond is simply beautiful. She wiggles her fingers in an effort to get some feeling back in them, but she knows it's futile. Her gaze moves downward to find they appear to be changing color. Full panic sets in, and she once again tries to tug her hands through the cord. Unfortunately, she has tried so many times that the skin underneath is raw. She lets out a soft whimpering noise and lifts her gaze to glance around the area. There are no signs on which way to go, and there was nothing she could use to try to cut the cord either. At this rate, she's beginning to think that she could possibly lose the ability to use her hands. A sadistically playful chuckle from behind has her spinning around to face her worst nightmare. Laito is standing just out of arm's reach, but she didn't feel any safer. He gives her what appears to be a look of mock concern, but it's hard to be certain. The moonlight provides enough light to see by, but it doesn't help her with all the incredibly small details.

"Sweetheart, are you OK?" he asks. His voice is laced with 'concern'. She gives him a cold look, but she chooses to keep her mouth firmly closed. He waits for a few minutes before releasing a disappointed sounding sigh. He carefully skirts around her and moves closer to the water's edge. Her eyes never leave his face, though she's a little curious about how he navigates the mud. Still, she isn't about to miss an opportunity to swing the lamp base at him so she could run again. An uncomfortable, tense silence settles between them. He finally turns his head just a little. Her heart leaps into her throat when she sees that his eyes stand out against everything else since they were glowing once more. She's tries to tell herself that it's nothing but a trick her mind is playing since it's so dark outside, but she couldn't shake the feeling. She's positive that the eerie pond and the moonlight doesn't help her imagination. Her flight instinct kick in, and she spins around to run. She knew better than to turn her back on him. He is like a wolf, and she is the rabbit. Just like a wolf, he pounces on her after only a couple of steps. His weight bears her to the ground. Somehow, her bound arms end up stretched above her head. Something digs into her side painfully. It easily rips through both cloth and skin alike. Her cry of pain is muffled by a mouthful of dirt and grime. Tears of anger and pain well up in her eyes, and she attempts to thrash her way free. Unfortunately, all she manages to do is turn her head enough to gasp loudly. Laito easily flips her over onto her back. This action renews her efforts to get free, since she could now try to use her hands as a club. Unfortunately, she only manages to lift them an inch or so when his hand lands right on the cord, effectively securing her to the ground. He tilts his head, and a sadistic look of pleasure causes his eyes glow even brighter. She lets out a wild scream and bucks her hips in an effort to throw him off of her body. Tears of pure hopelessness begin to fall, but it only serves to make her feel even more humiliated than ever before.

"Tell me, Sweetheart. Do you understand now? You never stood a chance." Despite his cold words, his tone sounds loving, almost caring. He seems to wait for the realization to completely sink in. She's been completely helpless this entire time. He had done small things to make her believe she had a chance. All the kindness he has been showing must have been to build up this moment. He wanted her to fall as far and hard as possible. She glares hatefully at him through her tears, but she stops her struggling. Was there a point anymore? He was clearly winning. He promised that he was going to break her, and it certainly felt like he's achieving his goal. His cold, mocking laughter only serves to rub salt into the wounds. Finally, she falls silent and closes her eyes. She doesn't want to give in, but a wave of helplessness washes over her, effectively killing any of her remaining determination. She hears him make a noise of satisfaction in the back of his throat, but she doesn't open her eyes. He suddenly leans down until his face is near her neck, and all she does is tense. She fully expects him to bite, lick, or kiss her, so it comes as a shock when he whispers. "Beg me."

Her eyes open a little, and everything in her body goes oddly numb, even her emotions. She finds herself staring at the stars above. He pulls his head back until his face is directly in her path of sight. His hair hangs around his face, giving him an eerie look since the moon was at his back. All she can truly see are his eyes. Time seems to tick by, and it becomes apparent that he seems to be waiting patiently for her to say something. Mai stubbornly doesn't say a word. Finally, Laito releases a chuckle and says in a deeper voice. "Mai, I'll release your hands if you beg me to."

The sound of her name sends a thrill down her spine. She peels her eyes away from his face and focuses on the arm that he is using to balance himself up. Once again, a tense silence settles between them. Despite the overwhelming sense of helplessness, she isn't about to beg him to do anything. She shudders when he mutters her name into her ear. She jerks away, but her face still flushes. This is the most she has ever heard him say her name. Thankfully, he sits back with a laugh. "Are you planning to stubbornly cling to your pride?"

Despite him no longer holding her hands above her head, she continues to leave them there. After a few seconds, he places his hands on either side of her head and leans down once more. His cold breath brushes the skin of her cheek when he softly mutters, "Pride will not help you here. Nothing can help you but me."

She turns her head to look at him once more. Unfortunately, he has moved again, so her nose brushes his. She forces herself to not flinch or look away. She's proud of the fact that her voice is steady and emotionless. "Fuck you."

He leans back to give her a thoughtful, yet cold, look. A shudder runs down her spine, and she turns her head away. She tries to tune out his chuckle, but it still sends bouts of anger into the pit of her stomach. He moves one hand to reach out and grab the elbow of her arms. He tugs her into a sitting position, which she silently complies to. With another tug, he pulls her arms over his head and settles her in his lap. With a jolt, she realizes that something hard is pressing against her clothed womanhood from below. She squirms uncomfortably and feels her face flush. This brought back some very vivid memories of her dream, only he was so much more gentle there. She catches herself wishing that he was gentle and closes her eyes. She tries to keep her body from shuddering, but it turns out to be an impossible task. Unfortunately, this seems to be the inspiration he needs to keep going. His hands settle on her hips, and he lets himself fall back. She's dragged down with him,. She tries to tell herself that she doesn't care, but she knows that deep down inside that she does. She uses her elbows to keep from completely landing on him, but she's still uncomfortably close to him. She knew the awkward angle should make her hands hurt, but she finds that she doesn't even feel the ground. Panic coats her mouth, throat, and tongue in a sour taste. This panic only grows when she feels his cold thumbs slip under her shirt to rub lazy circles against the skin of her waist. Every so often his thumb brushes one of her many scratches, causing her to flinch. He lets out a chuckle each time. Finally, she starts to shift in an effort to get him to stop touching her. Unfortunately, it has a negative effect on him. He simply moves his hands higher. After a few attempts, she snaps. "Let me go, you freak!"

"You smell disgusting," he cooes. It sounded so weird to hear insulting words spoken in such a voice. He turns so his face becomes buried in her arm. "Beg me to release you, and I'll untie you. You can clean yourself, then. Unless you are hoping that I'll do the honors of washing your body."

She grits her teeth so hard that pain races through her jaw. She finally manages to snarl out. "Please untie me."

He chuckles deep in the back of his throat. Her entire body tenses at the sound. It sounds as if her words had turned him on. His cold fingers lightly run from her elbow to her shoulder and back down a couple of times. She wants to flinch away, but she already knows that she won't get free. Instead, she forces herself to hold still. After a few seconds, he releases a yet another sigh. His fingers leave her arms, and he turns to look at her. His arm suddenly snakes under her own where he begins to trace one side of her collarbone. Without any sort of warning, his other hand painfully grabs the hair at the back of her skull, and he pulls her head closer to his. His lips painfully collide with hers. She tries to flinch back, but he easily holds her still.

Her eyes widen when she feels his tongue thrust into her mouth. Without any more hesitation, she bites down as hard as she can. Blood fills her mouth. Panic sets in as she tries to keep herself from swallowing it. She doesn't know if she thought vampire blood would taste different than human blood, but it doesn't. Thankfully, he chooses that moment to jerk back, so she simply opens her mouth and lets the blood rush out. She doesn't care that it lands directly on his face. Her eyes squeeze shut, and she turns her head to spit the remaining traces out. Unfortunately, Laito lets out a loud moaning noise, effectively distracting her. Her eyes snap back to meet his just as the world tilts when he rolls the two of them over. His body effectively pins hers to the ground. Unfortunately, her luck continues to not hold out. The base of the lamp swings around and collides hard with her cheek. She lets out an unintentional cry of surprise and pain. Her head turns to the side when she sees the lamp base was swinging back at a slower to strike her again. To complete the nightmare, Laito rolls his hips into hers. Her body stiffens when a jolt runs through her body. She turns her eyes just enough to look up into his glowing eyes. His eyes are clearly full of lust and excitement. She clenches her eyes shut when he leans closer down to her.

"Did you know…." His tongue comes out to touch her collarbone. He slowly licks all the way up to her jaw, leaving a cold trail of saliva behind. "...I can tell you are a virgin simply by the scent of your blood. In fact, the scent changes when a woman gives her body over to pleasure. Aren't you curious to what you will smell like?"

She jerks backward in an attempt to get away from him. Unfortunately, her bound hands keep her from going too far. She desperately gasps out, "Let go!"

His cold, lustful chuckle sends chills down her spine. One of his fingers reaches through the hole in her shirt that she received when he pushed her down and lightly traces the cut within. His voice once again takes on a mocking edge. "Virgin blood smells so…."

He pauses to inhale sharply through his nose and slowly releases the cool air in her face. "...pure. It's just so hard to not sully it."

Without warning, he's gone. Her hands fall heavily to her stomach. She glances around to see if she can find him, but he's nowhere to be seen. Now that she has a moment to think, she finds that she's shaking. She swallows hard and awkwardly sits up. Once she is upright, two arms wrap around her from behind. She stiffens when she's pulled back into a chest. To her dismay, she finds that she's sitting directly between Laito's legs. A hard lump presses into her back, and she closes her eyes tightly. His hands suddenly grab her elbows and slowly run their way down to her bound wrists. He mutters in a deep, sadistic sounding voice. "Do you realize just how helpless you foolish humans are against my kind?"

She swallows hard, but she can't get rid of the lump forming in her throat. She slowly nods her head, since she didn't trust her voice. His nose brushes the skin of her neck. She flinches slightly, but she doesn't dare move more than that. He chuckles against her skin, but it sounds hollow to her. She feels a tug on her wrists and opens her eyes. Relief floods through her when she sees he is slowly unwinding her hands. When his lips brush over the skin of her neck, she closes her eyes tightly again. She cringes with each kiss he gives her. Restlessness sets in when feeling begins to rush back into her hands and fingers. She instinctively flexes her fingers a couple of times in hopes that it will stop them from tingling as much.

His fangs suddenly brush over her skin, which causes a shudder to run down her spine. She must have moved just right, since she is rewarded with a deep moan in her ear. She clenches her eyes shut and immediately stops moving. Unfortunately, that's when her hands decide to begin to painfully tingle. The last of the cord slides off and lands in her lap. She slowly flexes and relaxes her fingers a few more times, but something stops her from doing so. Her eyes slowly open to find that he's rubbing her hands. Her heart skips a beat and anger rises in the pit of her stomach. Was he trying to 'help' her get feeling back in her hands? Did he think this would fix what he's done so far? She closes her eyes and clenches her teeth. She feels a puff of air against her jaw, but she is careful to not react.

A few seconds tick by before she hears a frustrated 'hm' sound coming from him, but she chooses to ignore it. Without warning, pain explodes through her neck. Her eyes snap open, and she unconsciously thrusts her head back. The back of her skull collides with his shoulder, but it doesn't seem to affect him. Her mouth opens in a silent scream. A rush of air escapes her when she feels him biting down even harder. This time, she lets out a loud whimper. It feels like every nerve in her body is on fire. She feels terrified and helpless. What should she do? She can't hear him actually drinking her blood, so it seems like he is punishing her. The part she doesn't understand is why he is punishing her. She isn't sure when or why, but she finds her hand in his hair. She considers tugging on it in a vain effort to get him to let go, but, to her surprise, Laito has already pulled his fangs out of her neck. She unconsciously leans back into him, but her body still throbs as if he were still biting her. She feels him move and forces herself to turn to her head to look at him. Her hand slips from his hair when she does. She catches the tail end of shock on his face, but it melts away into an emotionless look that makes her heart sink. Without meaning to, she mutters, "What is wrong with you?"

She flinches when she finds herself scooped up by him. He holds her bridal style with a playful smirk on his face. She can't help but feel like something bad is about to happen. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices the ground further away than it should be. She makes the mistake of turning to find that they were at least four feet off the ground. Her heart skips a couple beats before it starts to wildly race again. Her hands find the front of his clothes, and she grips tightly. Still, she can't manage to tear her eyes away from the ground. She hadn't actually believed Yui's ramblings about flying, but it was proving to be her downfall again. She feels his chuckle brush against her skin. The cold sound is enough motivation to tear her gaze away from the ground. Her eyes meet cold, glowing, green ones inches from her own, but she doesn't dare jerk away from him. His voice is just as cold and sadistic as his gaze. "Isn't this fun?"

She can't muster up the strength to try to force words past the lump in her throat, so she starts to shake her head violently. She just wants her feet to touch the ground again. A look of mock disappointment passes over his face, but she found that she didn't care anymore. He suddenly releases her legs, and she lets out a cry of surprise. Her arms wrap around his neck instead of just gripping his clothes. She buries her face in his shoulder and silently pleads that he doesn't drop her. It feels like her heart is hammering hard enough to break her ribs. Her body presses tightly against his. Thankfully, one of his arms is still wrapped around her upper back, but the other one is painfully running through her hair. He doesn't bother to slow down when his fingers catch knots, twigs, or other debris, but she doesn't dare say anything. She's terrified that he'd let her fall if she pushes him too far. She fights the tears from falling, but she fails horribly. His shirt absorbs most of them. To her surprise, he makes a shushing noise and moves the arm that is running through her hair to wrap around her waist, pulling her lower body completely flush against him. Once again, she is uncomfortably aware of the fact that something hard was pressing against her. He mutters softly. "I just want to do something nice for you, since you didn't seem to be enjoying yourself earlier. I thought that a look at the scenery from higher up would be to your liking. Why don't you take a look?"

She simply shakes her head. She wants to feel shocked, irritated, or even appalled by his words, but she finds that all she feels is cold, raw fear. There's no way to tell how high she is now, and she doesn't want to get a sense of vertigo from looking straight down. She tenses when he shifts her body.

"Do you want to dance?" His voice is the usual playfulness that she has become accustomed to. Despite her better judgement, she feels her body relaxing a little. She slowly lifts her head to look up at him. She can clearly see the blood on his face, which surprises her. She thought he would have cleaned himself off by now. He gives her a pleasant smile that causes her body to tense all over again. She starts to shake her head before he can misunderstand her silence, but it's already too late. He playfully mutters. "You smell so disguising, Sweetheart. Let's give you a bath."

Her eyes widen, and she clings even tighter to him. Unfortunately, he seems to have a different plan in mind. His hands grip her waist, and he gives a sharp tug. Unfortunately, her hands still haven't fully returned to normal, so they easily slip away from him. The second she loses her grip on his neck, she scrambles to try to grab some of his clothing. He clicks his tongue playfully. "Naughty girl, do you want me to bathe with you?"

"This…! This….!" Inside her mind, she manages to cry out that this isn't a bath! Any clothing she manages to grab still slides through her fingers. His hands suddenly let go of her. She feels numb as she falls. She can only hope that she wouldn't be falling far. She was so stupid. She had hid her face in his shoulder, so she didn't see him moving over the still pond. She didn't know how high he was when he dropped her.

Her butt hits first, parting the water. Seconds later, she lets out a cry of shock. The water is so cold that it feels like she is on fire. The water closes over her body, but she didn't have time to close her mouth at that point. The cold water rushes into her mouth and down her throat. The sense of drowning washes over her. She thrashes her way back up to the surface in a panic. Once her head breaks the surface, she gasps greedily. Unfortunately, she sinks back under for a moment due to her own panicked thrashing. She breaks the surface and begins to cough hard to try to clear her lungs. She's already shivering hard, which makes it hard to tread water. She glares up at him coldly. It was still shocking to see him floating a couple of feet above the water. He gives her a playful wave, which she responses by flipping him off . She turns her attention to getting out of the water. Of course, he has dropped her in the center of the large pond. With chattering teeth, she makes her way toward what appears to be the closest edge.

"I love that defiant look!" Laito playfully calls. "It really gets me going!"

She rolls her eyes, but she doesn't comment. She doesn't need to. He proceeds to tell her about how boring it is to play with her when she just gives in. She's not sure how, but she manages to make it to the edge of the pond. Her limbs were starting to feel numb though, and she could tell that she was getting clumsy. To finish everything off, she sinks into the mud in ankle deep water. To her humiliation, she ends up tipping over and getting caked in mud when she finally manages to rip one foot out of the mud. Laito's laughter only makes it worse. She feels like punching him in the face. She barely manages to drag herself to her hands and knees. She takes a moment to catch her breath. A nasty taste had evaded her mouth, so she spits out as much mud as she can. Just when she gets ready to pull herself up to a standing position and try again, two arms wrap around her from behind. She only has enough time to gasp before the world spins.

Just when everything stops spinning, she feels herself dropping again. Her heart leaps into her throat, and she reaches out to brace herself. Pain races up both wrists when her hands collide with hard tile. The room is so bright that she's forced to close her eyes. Laito's laughter echoes around the room. After a few minutes, she is able to slowly open her eyes. It's still bright, but she manages to blink rapidly until her eyes adjust enough to see. She's still on her hands and knees, but she is leaning back to rest on her knees more. Her hair hangs limply around her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see leaves, twigs, mud, and other things caked in her hair. Her stomach twists in disgust, and she eases back until she is fully sitting on her knees. It doesn't come as a surprise to see Laito crouched in front of her. His elbow is on one knee, and his chin rests in his hand. He's giving her a cold smile, and his eyes are still glowing. Mai's heart sinks to the bottom of her stomach. He still hasn't even attempted to clean the partially dried blood that is smeared over one side of his face. A shudder runs down Mai's spine, and she reluctantly tears her eyes away from him.

A mixture of horror and relief flood her being. She is in the bathroom of the Sakamaki manor. It's one that she's used once before. She spares a glance down to see that her outfit is ruined. She's sure that there is blood coating some of the larger holes, but it's all hidden by the thick layer of mud that coats her from head to toe. Her arms are covered in the dark brown substance. She's still shivering, but the bathroom feels surprisingly warm, so she doesn't think it would take long to warm up. She flinches and glances back at Laito, who gives her a smug smile. She grits her teeth and tries to catch him off guard by saying, "Thank you for allowing me to use your bathroom. If you don't mind, I would appreciate you showing yourself out, so that I may clean myself properly. I promise to make the shower quick so you can shower as well."

A frown overtakes his face, but he doesn't actually look upset. This is further cemented by the fact that he tilts his head and says in a voice full of mock disappointment. "I can't leave. Reiji would kill me for tracking mud into the rest of the house."

She clenches the muddy material of her pants. This isn't going like she hoped it would. With a sigh, she gives him her best stern look. "Then take me home. I'll shower there, and you can shower here."

"Hmmmm," he hums out. She grits her teeth tightly and stands up. That's when she realizes that she's missing a shoe. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. It must have happened when she finally freed that foot from the mud. She opens her eyes and prepares to inform him that she will talk to Reiji about the mud if he would just leave. Unfortunately, she doesn't get a chance. His hand lashes out, and she hears a tearing sound. Surprise prevents her from wrapping her arms around her now exposed stomach. She can only stare at him in astonishment. He has a thoughtful look on his face, while he stares at a scrap of her shirt that is dangling from his fingers. He tilts his head a little. His eyes suddenly shift over to her, and she takes a step back. He gives her a playful pout. "Your clothes are ruined. How long do you plan on wearing them?"

She finds herself only able to stare at him once again. Finally, she manages to ask. "What?"

He chuckles and reaches toward her. She flinches back, but his fingers still gently brush her jaw. Bewildered, she quickly attempts to back even further away. To her surprise, he allows her to retreat all the way across the room. That simple action of 'kindness' only causes her to feel even more alarmed. She finally wraps an arm around the torn part of her shirt and pulls her eyes away from him in order to see how far away from the exit she is . She finds that she's only a short distance, so she glances back at Laito. She fully expects to see him only inches away from her, so it comes as a surprise to find his upper half hidden by the shower. She isn't sure how she missed hearing the water turn on, but she assumes the sound of her heart pounding in her ears is part of the reason.

She doesn't wait for him to notice her plan. She simply bolts to the door. To her horror, her worst fears finally come to life. An arm wraps around her waist, and she is lifted her off the ground. She decides to release a scream in hopes that his sensitive hearing wouldn't be able to take the echo. To her absolute delight, he does cringe; however, the plan doesn't go like she wanted. Instead of simply dropping her, Laito twists and throws her body. She hits the floor painfully, but she rolls with it to avoid unnecessary damage. Just as she scrambles to her feet, he appears before her with a look of pure excitement and lust. A glint catches her eye, and her heart stops. Her eyes drop to find a small knife held in his right hand. She takes a step back and snaps her gaze back up to him when he releases a chuckle. She opens her mouth, but she's speechless, so she ends up just shutting her mouth once more. She takes another step back only to bump into the shower. She doesn't dare look over her shoulder though. Thankfully, he doesn't move to follow after her, but his glowing eyes show a frighteningly sadistic look.

"Oh, my sweet Mai, if you won't strip and get clean, then I'll just have to help you," he coos at her. He takes a small, threatening step toward her. She lets out a strange squealling sound and violently shakes her head.

"No! Ah, I don't need help! I understand. I will… I'll…. I can…." she mutters. She forces a smile onto her face. Thankfully, this seems to stump him for a moment, since a curious look over takes the sadistic one. Not wanting to risk losing the moment, she carefully reaches out to put a hand on his chest and give him a light shove. The last thing she needs to do is set him off again. "I can undress myself. Thank you so much for bringing me here, Laito. I… Um. Well, I'll take my shower now, and, um, I'll….. I'll be quick. You can shower afterwards, right?"

A light flush appears on his cheeks, and a look of pleasure flashes over his face. He chuckles and takes a step back. Uncertainty fills her chest and stomach when she notices the knife is now missing. She wants to feel better about it not being there, but it's worse when she has no idea where it's at. After a few seconds, it becomes painfully obvious that he didn't have any plans on leaving. It takes all of her willpower to turn her back on him and reach for the shower door. Unfortunately, Laito's arm appears over her shoulder, effectively keeping her from opening the shower door. Her mind goes blank, and she stares numbly at it. He whispers softly in her ear. "I don't think it's normal to get into the shower fully clothed. How can you get clean that way?"

She tries to answer a few times, but she ends up having to clear her throat. Finally, she manages to force out in a small voice. "I… I didn't think you were going to leave."

His finger begins to lightly tap on the shower door, but he doesn't say anything. Her heart sinks, and she spares a glance back at him. He gives her a playful smile. A feeling of unease and disgust begins to rise in her stomach. She doesn't plan to strip in front of him, but he clearly doesn't plan to leaving. His right hand lifts to show her the knife again. With an overwhelming sense of dread, she closes her eyes and turns to face the shower. She takes a deep breath to calm her nerves and tells herself repeatedly that she is alone. She just has to be quick about stripping. Hopefully, he will let her into the shower afterwards. She grabs one sleeve of her shirt and tugs on it. Her breath catches and humiliation colors her face a deep red. She only pauses for a moment before she strips as fast as she can. Once her last article of clothing hits the floor, she opens her eyes to find that his hand has disappeared. She doesn't hesitate to rip the door open, leap in, and slam it shut behind her.

Unfortunately, pain races through her body the second the water hits her skin. She's not sure if it's because she is still chilly, but the water is overwhelmingly hot. She lets out a loud whimper, which earns a laugh from Laito. She quickly reaches out to cool the water down. The steam and heat is already doing wonders for her cold limbs, and she desperately wants to enjoy it, but she doesn't dare. She reaches out to grab the shampoo and immediately starts her shower.

________________________________________________________________________

It takes her much longer than she would have liked to scrub away the grime. Deep bruises adorn her wrists, lower forearms, and the shoulder that had collided with the tree. She has a large gash where the mystery item had cut her when she was shoved down. She flinches every time she touches a different cut, and she has so many small cuts on her body. The only other concern is the two puncture wounds on her neck. They hurt to try to clean, so she ends up skirting them. Finally, she's feeling refreshed. She reaches out to turn off the shower, only to have something cold press into her back. She lets out a squeal and spins to find amused green eyes. Without actually meaning to, she takes a step back and allows hers eyes to drop down his body. Her eyes lock with his member for only a moment before she snaps her gaze back up to his face. To her utter embarrassment, his eyes were already drifting down her body. She spins around and tries to cover her butt with her hands. She flinches when she realizes that she still needs to reach out and grab the door to open it. After a moment of hesitation, she reluctantly pulls her hand away and reaches out to grab the door.

To her surprise, she is able to open it and slip out. She slams it shut and stands there awkwardly. After a few seconds, she manages to locate a towel and wraps it around herself before looking around. The room is completely clean of the mud, though she has a feeling that Laito isn't the one who cleaned. The mirrors are covered in steam, so she can't see anything through them. The tiles are a slick from the steam, but it isn't anything she can't handle. She jumps and almost loses her footing when Laito says, "You have more scratches than I thought you did."

It feels like something inside of her snaps. She spins to glare at the shower. She makes a couple of rude gestures, but she manages to return her attention to finding clothes. She searches everywhere, but she can't find anything other than towels. She glances at the door, wondering if she should just take her chances at running through the hallway to Yui's room. A horrible thought occurs to her. Ayato's probably in Yui's room. The thought of facing yet another redhead while naked is overwhelming. She glances at the shower, silently wondering how much hot water he still had. With a shake of her head, she turns her attention to the door and quickly makes her way over. She casts one more glance in Laito's direction just to be sure that he was still showering. She turns back to the door and opens it just enough to poke her head out into the hallway. The chilly air almost makes her duck back inside the bathroom, but she decides it's now or never. Her eyes inspect every part of the hallway, but she doesn't find anyone there. Still, she has a feeling that she is being watched. She jumps when the shower shuts off and decides to just bolt. She steps out of the bathroom and turns to shut the door. It wouldn't slow him down, but she couldn't help but try. She twists to run down the hall when she slams into someone. She bounces back and lifts her gaze to meet the dreaded crimson one.

Her heart stops completely, and she finds herself feeling even more naked than before, despite wearing a towel. She wraps her arms around herself and tries to make herself as small as possible. A look of disgust spreads over Reiji's face. She fully expects him to begin a lecture about running around in a towel in a house full of teenage boys, but, to her utter surprise, he side steps her and looks over her shoulder. He's gone without a word only seconds later, and she turns to find Laito standing there with nothing but a smirk on his face. In fact, it looks like he hasn't even dried off. Mai's face instantly turns a bright red color, and she finds herself frozen to the spot. She tries to keep her eyes off of his now partially erect member. She's so distracted by what is standing in front of her that she doesn't see him reach out until it's too late. His hand wraps around her upper arm, and the world spins. She finds her in the room that she might occupy if she decides to stay. The lights are off, so she can barely see. The only light is the moon pouring in through the window, and even that is weak since the moon had moved past that part of the house.

With her heart in her mouth, she turns to glare at Laito. She can barely see the lustful smile on his face. She takes a step back, which seems to be what he wants. His hand reaches up and pushes her shoulder with unnecessary strength. She stumbles back until her legs collide with the bed. Another shove sends her sprawling backwards. He appears over the top of her, causing her body to tense. She attempts to knee him between the legs, but he simply shifts his body so he's sitting on her hips. She reaches up to put her hands on his chest in an attempt to shove him off of her, but she flinches away when she touches bare skin. She decides to double her fist and take a shot at swinging at his jaw. She loses her will to hit him when his hand hooks the towel and flicks it open. Stunned, she just sits there for a moment before scrambling to grab the edges of the towel. By that time, he has already moved in order to lean his face toward her abdomen. She flinches when his tongue runs over her stomach. It leaves a tingling sensation behind, and he moves over just a little. While she is trying to cover herself up as much as possible, she wonders what he is doing. It finally occurs to her when he pulls away just enough to scoot over to the gash on her side. The tingle reminds her of the feeling she got when their father had healed her ankle. She finds herself unable to stop watching him when he moves up to the puncture wound on her neck. His tongue runs slowly over the area, and she has to close her eyes tightly to keep from making an sounds. Finally, he pulls back, and she slowly opens her eyes to look up at him. His arms were on either side of her head, and his hair once again falls around his face. Her voice comes out as a squeak. "Were….were you healing my cuts?"

Unfortunately, he doesn't answer. His lips suddenly seal over hers. She tries to reach up and shove him away, but he doesn't allow her to. The kiss feels like it's stealing her breath away, making her squeal softly. To her relief, he finally releases her. She gasps in a breath, but that's all she manages. His cold fingers suddenly touch a very sensitive button beneath her towel. It feels like a jolt of electricity runs through her body, and she involuntarily jerks. He chuckles against the skin of her neck before leaving butterfly kisses there. Her hands move downward in an attempt to shove his hand away from her womanhood. She can feel him smirking against her skin. With a sinking feeling, she realizes that he's playing with her again and enjoying the struggling against him. She doesn't get another second to dwell on those thoughts, since he lightly, but playfully, flicks her button. This just sends another jolt through her body, and she attempts to shove his hands away with renewed vigor. His mouth latches onto her neck, and she fully expects to feel the pain of his fangs sinking in. To her surprise, he appears to only be lightly sucking. She jumps again when he pokes her button once more.

Full panic sets in when his other hand rips the towel away from her body. Her last hopes disappears along with it. Her surprised lapse in attention is fully taken advantage of by Laito. He manages to lift himself up, spread her legs, and settle between them, all in the span of a few seconds. The second his skin touches the sensitive skin between her legs, she starts to struggle even harder. Her voice comes out as a breathless whisper. "Please don't, Laito. Please don't!"

He pulls his mouth away from her neck. His face is lit by the moon just enough that she can see a caring look on his face, but she has a terrible feeling that he's faking it. He reaches out to lightly brush his fingers along her jaw. His voice clearly means to sound full of emotion, but it comes out sounding hollow to her. "Don't worry, my love. There is nothing wrong with expressing our feelings. You love me, don't you?"

She finds herself unable to talk. Her body goes limp, and she squeezes her eyes shut tightly. Tears well up in her eyes, and she silently hopes someone will help her. A few seconds drift by before she feels him gently kiss her jaw. He mutters directly into her ear, "I'll make you a deal. If you play this game with me, I'll make sure you enjoy it, too. If you don't play along…"

His voice trails off in a clear threat. She swallows hard. This isn't how her life is suppose to go. This isn't how she wants to do this. She feels an overwhelming sense of fear and shame. She has to force herself to slowly nod. Perhaps it'll hurt less if she just agrees to do what he asks. To her utter surprise, Laito's fingers gently delve into her hair. Time slowly ticks by while he uses his fingers to gently work out the knots before settling for massaging her scalp. His cold tongue appears to lick up the tears that escape from her eyes. Time seems to crawl by, but she doesn't feel any more relaxed than before. Finally, she hears him chuckle from above her. Her eyes slowly open to see what he was up to. His glowing green eyes send chills down her spine. Was he really going to be gentle? He mutters softly. "I love you. Do you love me?"

She clenches her jaw shut. Was she suppose to tell him that she loved him? His sense of love is completely different from hers, and she doesn't even know how she even felt about him. His eyes seem to glow in amusement, letting her know that she must have made the right choice by keeping silent. He leans down to lightly press his lips to hers. His lips move to mutter against her mouth. "That's ok. You don't have to tell me now."

She doesn't get a chance to respond, since he presses his lips against hers for a chaste kiss. Seconds later, his mouth is on her collarbone. He kisses the entire bone slowly before moving to slowly kiss the top of her breasts. She closes her eyes tightly and hopes it's over sooner than it appears it will be. She's unpleasantly aware of every spot his hands, mouth, or even skin touches. Everything feels like it's tingling. The feeling only gets worse when his cold mouth suddenly closes over a nipple, causing her breast to easily become erect. Despite herself, she can't help the thrill of pleasure running through her body when he slowly sucks on it. His tongue makes lazy around the erect bud in his mouth in between each suck. She's vividly aware that her other breast is receiving zero attention. This is due to the fact that one of his hands has moved to interlock his fingers with hers, while the other is rubbing lazy circles just out of reach of her womanhood. She squeezes her eyes shut and tries to ignore the unwilling pleasure he's bestowing. She keeps telling herself that he's going to snap at some point and do something cruel, but all he does is move his mouth to her other breast after a few minutes and repeat his earlier treatment.

A moan finally bubbles past her lips before she can help herself. She cringes at the sound and tightly bites her lip to keep anything else from spilling out of her mouth. She squeezes the bedding and his hand tightly, which just elects a muffled moan from him. His mouth suddenly leaves her breast, causing her to open her eyes to find that he's staring at her. His eyes narrow slightly, and the index finger suddenly makes an unexpected turn. The cold digit brushes over her button and slides down her opening. A shock runs through her. Her body jerks violently, and she opens her mouth but no sound comes out. Unsure of what she is doing, she slams her mouth shut and tenses. Her heart's hammering so hard that she feels like it's about to give out. He gives her a sadistically playful smile. Before she can protest, he sinks even lower. His face settles between her legs, causing her to flush.

"Don't, Lai-" is all she manages to plead before his tongue flicks out to touch her opening. Her body arches uncomfortably, and she lets out a strangled sound. She attempts to roll away, but his hands secure her hips. She doesn't give much thought to when he let go of her hand, since he closes his eyes and proceeds to lick her opening in a slow, teasing manner. She lets out an unwilling groan before she reaches down to try to shove his head way. He stubbornly doesn't allow her to. She opts for grabbing a fistful of his hair and tugs violently. She instantly regrets her choice since his mouth latches onto her womanhood, and he gives it a suck. Pleasure courses through every part of her body, and she arches once more. She releases a loud strangled moan. She once again attempts to roll away, but he keeps her hips still. He gives another gentle suck before he pulls his mouth away. She bites back a whimper when his tongue begins to make slow, lazy flicks over her clit. Each one sends an indescribable shock throughout her body. She finds herself clinging to his hair with both hands rather than pulling on it. She could feel a pleasant feeling building up in the pit of her stomach. Despite herself, she prays that it comes undone soon.

It seems like her prayers are answered when she feels one of his hands leave her hip. A finger appears near her opening. He slowly pushes in the tip of his finger, causing her back to arch all over again. She releases a sharp breath in response, but she manages to bite back the moan. He releases a chuckle and retracts his finger, much to her disappointment. His finger slowly trace her opening before dipping just the tip back inside. Just when she prepares herself for the hard, but pleasant knot, to come undone, a pain races up her spine. That's when she realized that he had pulled his face away from womanhood and was now latched onto her inner thigh. Shame rushes through her body when she realizes she doesn't have it in her to push him away. The sound of his moans only serve to send pleasant shivers down her spine. Her breaths come out in short gasps, and she simply lies there for a few seconds before forcing herself to look down at him.

He seems to sense her gaze, since he pulls his face back and gives her a charming smile. Red colors his lips, giving him a sinister look. His voice is deep and cold. "You seem to be enjoying it, so I thought we can take it a step further."

Without warning, she feels his cold hands flip her onto her stomach. She finds herself thrust up to the top of the bed, where something cold wraps around her wrists. To her absolute horror, she finds herself handcuffed. The chain portion is wrapped around the post of her bed with each of her hands cuffed on different sides, leaving her completely vulnerable. Tears well up in her eyes, and she starts to thrash again, but the handcuffs dig into her bruises, effectively preventing her from moving. She lets her head drop onto the bed and releases her tears. She hears a scoff from behind her, but she doesn't bother to lift her head to look at him. She just closes her eyes tightly and tries to pretend that she is somewhere else. His cold chest touches her back, and she tries to make herself into a ball. His mocking voice mutters softly, "I promise you, my sweet Mai. You will enjoy this more than you think you will."

His chest disappears, and a cold finger takes it's place. He slowly moves it down, as if he were tracing her spine. Once he reaches the beginning of her butt, he pushes it back up. She keeps waiting for more, but it never comes. He just continues to push until she is forced to arch her spine and lift her hips to keep from having the pressure hurt. When his fingers brush her button, she jumps and tries to curl back up, but his other arm has already wrapped around her waist in order to prevent her from doing just that. She forces herself to look back to find that he has finally settled behind her. Nervousness causes her breath to catch in her throat. She grips the the pillow between her hands and lock gazes with Laito. She had so much that she wants to ask him. Unfortunately, pain explodes through her body the second their eyes meet. Her breath rushes out of her body in the form of a scream of pain. Her head snaps back around, and she begins to thrash; however, that only makes the pain worse. She forces herself to become still and closes her eyes tightly. All she can think about is the pain running through her core, but she thinks she feels something running through her hair. It feels like she is being ripped in half, and all she could do was cry.

Pain erupts in her unbruised shoulder only seconds later; however, it almost instantly changes from pain to pleasure. To her surprise, she finds that it even dulls the pain of losing her virginity. Despite herself, she feels her body relax. After only a couple of moments, her body is uncomfortably pitched forward a little bit. She releases a strangled sound of pain, but it soon returns to being smothered by the pleasant feeling of having Laito lazily suck her blood. This awkward feeling passes by for a few minute before he pulls his mouth away from shoulder. His hips pull back, and she shudders at the feeling of him almost leaving her body. Was that it? Seconds later, he thrusts forward, filling her once more. It isn't as painful as she thought it would be, but it isn't pleasant either. She finds that she can at least bare with it by having her face buried in the pillow and gripping it tightly. She flinches every so often, but she doesn't make a sound. In fact, the only sound is his pleased moans filling the room.

Unfortunately, this goes on for a few minutes before he completely stops moving. A chuckle erupts from him, and he leans forward. Her body stiffens while she tries to keep herself from imagining the worst case scenario. Both of his hands move from her hips to lightly trace up her sides. She completely stops breathing when he coos in her ear.

"I love you. I want to hear your voice. It seems like I'm the only one enjoying this." His hand suddenly leaves her body. Seconds later, it appears in her hair. He pulls hard, forcing her head up. Her back arches once again to keep from craning her neck too much. His tongue appears on her neck. It traces up the side slowly before he gives the area just below her ear a painful nip. "Don't hold back."

He straightens in order to roll his hips, and an unintentional moan leaves her mouth. Everything feels different from this angle, and she finds herself hating that it's even enjoyable in the slightest. He mutters softly. "Show me how much you love me."

His hips slowly pick up rhythm. She still tries to bite back the moans, but she fails a couple of times. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be enough for him. His free hand moves from her side to rub her clit in time with his thrusts. A pleasant shock rushes through her veins, and she releases a loud moan. His chuckle makes her feel ashamed of herself, but she's not able to even dwell on it.

This continues until she is close to reaching that pleasant peak. He suddenly stops moving completely. A chuckle leaves him at the whine she makes. His lips begin to ghost over the skin of her back. A feeling of dread starts to kill her mood. She opens her mouth to ask him to not bite her, but she's too late. His teeth sink into a spot near her spine, and pain erupts through the surrounding area. She releases a loud gasp, but she doesn't dare move. As if to rub salt in wounds, he doesn't even bother drinking from it, so she's not sure why he even bothered to bite her at all.

Once his fangs are clear, he starts to thrust again. Like before, his fingers expertly tease her clit until she's on the verge of reaching her peak. All she needs is one last thrust, and she has a feeling she will be there. Like before, he completely halts and bites her again.

This goes on several more times. In fact, she's starting to lose hope that she will ever finish. This time doesn't seem any different. All she can think about is the elusive feeling building her stomach once more. Just when she's positive that she can't take anymore, and he will stop, everything explodes. Waves of pleasure races from her core. It warms her all the way from her toes to her scalp. He continues to rub her clit, sending lesser waves out. Her body gives out, and she just lets herself relish the pleasant feeling that is still tingling her body. She's faintly aware of Laito saying something to her, but she doesn't care. His hand releases her hair, allowing her head to drop back onto the pillow. She's vaguely aware that he has stopped touching her clit and is now biting her shoulder, but she finds that she didn't care. She feels his body give a shuddering jerk, which is followed by a muffled groan. The room falls oddly silent.

He suddenly pulls away from her. In fact, she's sure that he completely disappeared, but she doesn't care about that either. Her body's so tired at that point that all she wants to do is sleep. She allows her eyes to drift closed. Just as she starts to drift off, cold hands touch her causing her to jerk. Her eyes snap open. She twists onto her back only to meet smug green eyes. She tenses and fully expects him to do something cruel to her, but the feeling melts away when she realizes that all he's simply wrapping the blanket around her. She silently looks up at her hands to find that the cuffs are indeed gone. She frowns and looks back at him. It comes as a small surprise to see him crawling in bed beside her. She fully expected him to leave. The tiredness was beginning to set in again. She decides to worry about it when she wakes up, so she rolls onto her side and attempts to let her mind drift off to sleep. She tiredly opens her eyes when she feels his cold body pressing against her from behind. His arm wraps around her waist, pulling her to him. She lets her eyes close again deciding that she will worry about his cuddling when she wakes up. The last thing she remembers is his voice in her ear, but she isn't sure what he says.

_________________________________________________________________________

She doesn't dare open her eyes. Her lower abdomen aches, almost as if she were on her period. Her womanhood throbs if she even tries to move her legs, and she's laying on an arm with another slung around her waist. Last nights events rush through her mind, and she bolts upright and opens her eyes. To her horror, her back pulls painfully, and she's still completely naked. Movement draws her gaze backward, where she finds that Laito has rolled onto his other side, but he appears to still be sleeping. She glances around the room to find that there is only one towel. She glances at Laito and a wave of emotions roll over her. The first is shame. She couldn't believe that she has lost her virginity to such a person. Next is regret, but she silently tells herself that she couldn't have done anything to stop him. The last emotion is the overwhelming need to run from him. She slides out of bed, ready to check the drawers. This turns out to be a bad move since her legs feel wobbly, and she feels lightheaded. She reaches out to steady herself on the bed for a moment. She's sure that it isn't normal to feel this way after having sex for the first time. A sting in her back makes her wonder if it isn't due to him biting her so many times. Finally, she is able to make her way over to the dressers only to find all the drawers empty.

Without warning, the world spins, and she finds herself standing in her bedroom. A cold body supports her until her head stops spinning. She considers glancing over her shoulder, but she is stopped when his lips brush the skin just behind her ear. Laito's sleep laced voice mutters. "I figured you needed some clothes."

She spins to face him, only to almost topple over when the room spins again. After everything settles, she finds that she is alone. She stands there for a moment feeling a strange set of emotions that she can't make heads or tails of. She thought she would be crying, but she finds that she just feels numb. She finally settles for getting clothes. To her horror, she finds small traces of blood all over her legs. She grabs loose clothes, gets dressed, and hurries to the bathroom. She pauses to see if there are any visible marks on her before she gets in the shower. Thankfully, his light sucking hadn't produced any hickeys. She's surprised to see that her face isn't bruised, and her lip is healed. She doesn't remember him healing it, but she decides to shove the thoughts out of her head. Once she is clean, she returns to change her clothes once more then heads toward the kitchen where she can hear her parents talking. The second she steps into the kitchen, she is greeted warmly by both of her parents. A shudder runs down her spine, and she finds that she is too embarrassed to tell them what had happened.

Her day crawls by, but she doesn't mind. Her family finally gets to spent some time together goofing off and just enjoying each other's company. The night passes by without much events either. In fact, everything seems so ordinary that she can almost convince herself that she just dreamt about sleeping with Laito. Unfortunately, the ache in her lower region is a painful reminder that it isn't a dream. She settles for doing her homework and going to bed early, so she can go to school. Time still seems to drag by when she wakes up. She gets ready and finds herself sitting in the backseat of the black car on the way to the Sakamaki manor. She had almost forgotten to grab Kanato's treat on the way out, but she managed to remember in time. It was a fresh cheesecake that her mother had made the day before. She lifts a hand to stifle a yawn just as the car pulls into the driveway. She is careful to not look at the familiar while she gets out of the car and hurries into the house. The door opens before she makes it all the way there, and she finds herself face to face with an excited looking Yui. She leaps out to hug Mai, who side steps her friend in order to save Kanato's dessert. Yui gives her a hurt look until she sees why Mai had moved. Yui lets out a chuckle and waves Mai inside. They quickly make their way toward the kitchen. On the way, Mai informs Yui of why she was there so early in the day. To her absolute relief, Yui excitedly asks to help.

That's how they find themselves standing just inside of Shuu's room. Yui softly asks, "So, how are we going to do this?"

Mai flinches and shakes her head. She has already told Yui about her previous attempts to wake him. She glances at her friend, and a sudden need to tell someone about Laito overwhelms her. Frustrated at herself, she mentally lectures herself that this is not the time or place to do it. She turns her attention back toward Shuu and says, "Well, Reiji said I'm not allowed to baby him, so I guess we take his blankets. If that doesn't work, we can always roll him out of bed."

She turns her gaze back to find that Yui is giving her a playful smile that helps Mai more than she will ever admit. Both make their way down the stairs and over to Shuu's bed. Without hesitation, they begin their wake up call by ripping the blankets off the bed. Shuu releases a groan before opening one eye to look over both of them. He releases a scoff and settles back to sleep. The girls glance at each other. Matching grins spread over their faces, and they take a couple of steps back before running and flinging their bodies onto the bed. Mai aims correctly and ends up beside Shuu without actually touching the vampire. Unfortunately, Yui isn't as lucky. Her body lands directly on top of the blonde vampire with a solid, painful sounding thump. Shuu lets out a groan and mutters about how they are impossibly annoying. Yui response by scrambling off of Shuu. Unfortunately, the blonde girl chooses the side that Mai landed on, so she ends up getting ran over by her frantic friend. Mai flinches, but she doesn't let it bother her. She's having more fun than she thought she would. Seconds later, Yui rejoins her in order to roll a prone Shuu out of bed. Mai notices his eyes open, so she is quick to move away. Unfortunately, Yui doesn't move fast enough to escape his retaliation, so she is pulled over the edge of the bed along with Shuu. Mai can't help but fall backwards onto Shuu's comfortable bed and howl with laughter.

Somehow, they manage to make it out to the car on time. Unfortunately, they are the last ones, so seating is limited. Mai climbs in after Yui, who is immediately pulled aside and crammed between Ayato and the opposite door. Mai hesitates for a moment before leaping at the seat between Kanato and Subaru. Shuu flops into the remaining seat between the window separating the driver and Laito. Mai is careful to not look in Laito's direction, though she's not sure why. If what Laito said is true, then she's positive everyone in the car knows what she did. She covers her face as if it would hide her embarrassment. The car shifts into motion, and she lets her hands drop. Still feeling uneasy, she finds herself fiddling with the strap of her bag.

A hand suddenly appears and latches onto her fiddling hands, effectively halting them. Her gaze snaps up to meet furious red eyes. Subaru snarls, "Quit your fucking fidgeting. It's irritating."

She mutters an apology, which earns her a cold scoff. Thankfully, he releases her. Kanato's soft voice sounds loud in her ear, when he says softly. "You smells different now."

She practically leaps into Subaru's lap at the sound of him sniffing her. Unfortunately, she doesn't get a chance to look back at Kanato, since Subaru shoves her backwards with a snarl. That causes her to slam into Teddy and Kanato. Her horror mounts when she feels his body shift.

"Teddy!" He screeches, causing several groans of irritation throughout the car. A hand wraps around her upper arm, and she is tugged hard enough that she finds herself awkwardly sprawled over Laito and Shuu's laps. Shuu gives her a cold look, but he doesn't say anything; however, Laito seems to find it funny. Kanato leaps to his feet the best he can with tears in his eyes. Once Mai notices, she scrambles to shove herself between Shuu and Laito. When she is settled, Laito leans even closer to her, forcing her tightly against Shuu. For a panic filled moment, she wonders if Laito is trying to make her an easier target. Thankfully, she's distracted by Kanato scooping up Teddy. The purple haired vampire coos at it before turning a rage filled gaze onto Mai. Her heart sinks until she hears Reiji's stern voice.

"Kanato, this is a moving car. Sit down. Mai, do not needlessly antagonize him."

Mai and Kanato's voices overlap as they argue.

"She intentionally mistreated Teddy! I demand that she receive the highest form of punishment!"

"He started it! I was just talking to Subaru, and he invaded my personal space! Besides, it was Subaru who shoved me!"

At the mention of his name, Subaru's furious red eyes turn on her once more, but she decides to keep her gaze locked on Reiji. Still, Subaru easily cuts through whatever retort Kanato is yelling. "Shut up, bitch! It's your fault!"

"Enough!" Reiji states coldly. Almost everything falls silent, but the two vampires are still glaring at her. Kanato finally flops down after a few seconds. The rest of the car ride is spent in silence, which doesn't bother Mai at all. Laito's hand suddenly makes its' way onto her lower thigh, causing her to flinch and look up at him. He gives her a playful grin, which just seems to grow when she shoves the offending appendage off of herself. She gives him a cold look before she leans more into Shuu and turns her attention toward the window across from her. She could only hope that this would be a one time occurrence.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next two weeks seem to fly by. She attempts to dodge Laito, but he ends up appearing in her room, so she gives in and returns to talking to him. To her absolute surprise and relief, he doesn't try to have sex with her again, but it doesn't stop him from groping her. He spends much of his times touching her butt, boobs, or dangerously close to her womanhood. The relief quickly wears off, and she starts to believe that he's only doing it, so she will get use to his touch. A feeling of dread makes her think he's doing it this way so she will let her guard down and make her an easier target next time.

The car rides finally become a normal routine. She ends up almost always sitting between Shuu and Laito. As a result, she typically finds herself being used as a pillow for Shuu. It bothers her at first, but she quickly finds that she can hear his music pouring from his headphones. Now, it doesn't bother her as much. Still, she caught herself always sparing a glance at Laito, though she isn't sure why. He seems to be enjoying himself while watching the two of them. Subaru seems to sit directly across from her most of the time, so she spends most of the ride trying to make small talk with him. All she ever earns are grunts and cold stares. Still, she can't help but feel like she is slowly building a friendship with the silver haired vampire. The most surprising fact is that all of the creepy activity has stopped. In fact, she hasn't seen, heard, or felt anything since she slept with Laito.

She slowly wakes up in her own bed, feeling groggy. It doesn't come as a surprise to feel a weight over her waist. She knew it should bother her that he's in her bed yet again, but she finds it's easier to not even worry about it anymore. He seems to sleep with her almost every night anyway. She carefully shoves his hand away and reaches for her phone to check the time. To her surprise, it's still really early to be getting up, so she isn't sure why she woke up. She hears a soft moan from behind her and turns her attention toward Laito. His face has shifted into a look of pain. Concern bubbles in the pit of her stomach, and it grows when he rolls away from her. A strangled sound comes from him, and her heart skips a beat. Was he crying? She slowly reaches out toward him, but her hand freezes inches away from his shoulder when he mutters. "Cordelia."

Confusion fills her entire body at that point. Isn't that the name of his mother? He makes a strange noise in the back of his throat that sounded almost like a groan of pleasure. Her eyes widen, and she finds herself completely speechless. With a shake of her head, she tells herself that she must have just heard him wrong the first time. She twists to get out of bed, since she's feeling unnerved by the incident. She tenses when he mutters something else under his breath. When she glances at him, he releases an actual moan. She leans forward a little in an effort to see if he was possibly awake and teasing her, though the thought of him teasing her in such a way sends an unpleasant chill down her spine. It becomes even more bizarre by the fact that he still seems to be asleep. She steps to the side to see that his face is now flushed, and it appears like he is panting. His hands grip the pillow he has stolen from her in what appears to be pleasure. Her eyes widen, and revulsion settles in the pit of her stomach. She takes a step back and shakes her head. There's something strange going on, but she doesn't know if she wants to really know exactly what it is.

She frowns at Laito for a couple of seconds before turning to hurry out of her room. Today is one of the days that she needs to bring something sweet for Kanato, since her last treat has ran out. Preparing it will serve as the best distraction. Since her mother has been working so much lately, it's left to her to hold up her end of the deal. She flinches at the tantrum Kanato had thrown the one and only time she had forgotten to bring something. Thankfully, she managed to lose him in the crowds at school, so it wasn't a complete disaster.

With a shake of her head, she clears her thoughts. She decides on making pudding, since it's quick and easy. Somehow, time gets away from her, and she has to scramble to get some forgotten homework done and get ready for school. For some reason, her tutor had stopped showing up. She's almost forgets to grab the pudding on her way out. Thankfully, she manages to run back in and get it. The car ride to the manor is especially hard, since she keeps trying to doze off. Like usual, Yui meets her at the front door, and they drop the pudding off in the fridge and proceed toward Shuu's room. Mai spares a glance at her friend while her friend talks about one of the homework assignments. She hasn't had a chance to even tell Yui about what happened with Laito, and she was now too embarrassed to do so. On a brighter note, the blonde seems to have returned to normal.

Still, today feels off for some reason. Everything around her feels as if it's the calm before the storm. She jumps when something brushes her opposite side and turns to find purple eyes staring at her. She pauses in favor of turning and smiling at Kanato. She explains where it's at then hurries away before he has a chance to say anything. Neither bother to knock, so it's a shock for them when they step into Shuu's room only to find him completely naked. The worst part is that he doesn't even look fazed by the fact they saw him in all his glory. They trip over each other trying to get out of the room and end up in a heap just outside the door.

Mai and Yui end up laughing it off before hurrying to the car, since they wanted to pick the best seats. Mai pauses just as they are reaching the car to look over her shoulder at the manor. Something is very off about the day, but she still couldn't place it. She tries to shrug it off and turns to get in the car. Unfortunately, they aren't the first ones there. Subaru scoffs at their greetings and leans back with his arms folded. Yui and Mai settles on the bench across from him and begin talking about whatever pops into the minds. After a few minutes, Kanato appears and sits as far away from them as possible. Ayato's next to appear. He reaches out to push on Yui's shoulder, causing Mai to switch sides. Subaru gives her a cold look, but he doesn't say anything. Poor Yui ends up crammed between Ayato and the wall once again. Mai closes her eyes and leans back with a yawn. She isn't sure why, but she feels so tired. Finally, something brushes her shoulder, but she doesn't bother opening her eyes. She just assumes it's Laito. Despite her best efforts, she could feel herself drifting off to sleep.

Something bumps her leg, and she finds herself jolting awake. She feels another jolt and realizes two things. The first thing is it's Subaru's leg that has hit hers twice. The second is that she is leaning against someone. A weight on the top of her head lets her know that whoever she is leaning on is returning the favor. She decides that she just doesn't care, since Laito was oddly comfortable, so she shifts a little in order to get back to sleep. The sound of piano music filters through the air causing her to abruptly jerk away, though she's careful to not bump Subaru more than necessary. Her eyes lock with tired blue ones, which quickly disappear when Shuu simply readjusts. She turns a cold glare on Ayato, who was currently snickering behind his hand. In fact, she could hear Kanato giggling from somewhere. Her gaze drifts around only to find that Laito is missing. Seeing an open seat beside Ayato, Mai jumps at it. She ignores the jab about not wanting to sit by her since she smells like 'the lazy bastard' and scoots to the end of the seat, closer to Reiji and the door. She's shocked to see that even Subaru has a tiny smile on his face. Mai's hands rise to cover her face and spends the rest of the trip silently wondering where Laito was. Thankfully, she has slept most of the trip, so she doesn't have to think about it for long. The second the car stops, she bolts out, completely disregarding Reiji's cold statement about waiting her turn. She steps to the side and waits for Yui to exit. The second the blonde girl appears, she grabs her wrist and tugs on her.

"Yui! I have to pee! Come with me!" Mai says. She sticks her tongue out at Ayato and proceeds to quickly drag Yui away from the car. Ayato calls out something rude but she doesn't quite hear what it is, so she responds by flipping him off. Thankfully, they make it to the bathroom without further problem. The second they step foot into the 'safe zone', Mai spins on Yui, who gives her a startled look. Without hesitation, Mai asks, "How are you feeling?"

"Um, I suppose I feel fine?" Yui says, though sounds unsure of her answer. Mai flinches and immediately jumps into what happened with Laito before school. When she finishes, Yui is staring at her wide eyed. Mai wraps her arms around her stomach, suddenly feeling sick. "You sleep in the same bed as Laito?"

Mai lets out a frustrated groan and glares at Yui. "I tell you that I heard him say his mother's name in his sleep then moan, and you are worried about me sharing a bed with him? Priorities, Yui!"

She flinches and flushes a light red color. "Ah, right. I don't know. Maybe he dated a girl that had the same name as his mom?"

Mai can't help but deadpan. "That doesn't make it sound any better."

Yui flinches. "You're right. Maybe he was having a dream about his mom, and it changed into something else?"

Mai simply stares at Yui, who flinches after holding the gaze for a few seconds. Her voice comes out as small squeak when she says, "Right. That's not any better either."

Mai moves to lean against the wall and asks, "Do you know much about their mother?"

Yui's body stiffens oddly for a moment, and it appears as if her eyes flash a different color. Mai straightens off the wall, and an eerie feeling washes over her. Yui gives her head a shake and turns to look at Mai. She gives her a happy, yet slightly confused, smile. "I need to grab some supplies tonight. Do you…. Are you OK?"

Mai's mouth has fallen open, and she doesn't have any way to shut it. Something had just happened right in front of her face, and she has idea how to begin to describe it. Yui gives her a look of concern and reaches a cool hand out to touch Mai's forehead. The second their skin meets, Mai rips herself away. Her friend doesn't seem to notice though, since she softly says, "You feel warm, Mai. Maybe you should go to the nurse's office and rest. Do you want me to walk you there?"

Concern fills Mai's chest, but she can only shake her head. Yui gives her another smile and proceeds into a stall. Mai takes this time to hurry out of the bathroom. Unfortunately, she slams into Ayato and has to take a step back. He gives her an aggravated look, but she doesn't care. She simply jumps into saying, "Something is wrong with Yui. I was having a conversation with her when…"

"I thought you said you had to piss," Ayato bluntly states. Mai glares at him but chooses to ignore him and continues talking.

"...she like...froze. Just stiffened up. Then I swear her eyes changed color, but it was so fast that I didn't get a chance to see what color they turned. She…. I don't know. Woke up, I guess? She just said that she needed to go to the store after school for some supplies and asked if I wanted to go with her. It was s-" Unfortunately, Ayato brushes past her and disappears right into the women's restroom. Mai stares after him silently for a moment before giving her head a violent shake. She feels a shudder run down her spine. Something was very, very wrong today. She spares one last glance at the bathroom door before she turns and hurries down the hallway. It's unnerving to think about how unnaturally cool Yui had felt. Her steps slow while she thinks over possibilities for such a temperature drop. She knows what it is, but she is too stubborn to admit it. Her feet finally lead her to a room that she never thought she would willingly go. She swallows hard, glances up and down the hallways before disappearing inside the music room.

Just like she hoped, he's already spread out on the floor beside the piano. She considers locking the door but decides against trapping herself in a room with the lazy vampire. She simply makes her way toward his sleeping form. "Hey, Shuu. I'm skipping the first couple of hours of class."

He doesn't respond, but she doesn't care. She just has to inform either Shuu or Reiji of her intentions, so she doesn't think she will get in trouble with Reiji now. She stops beside him and cautiously reaches out to nudge him with her foot. The second he makes a sound, she quickly pulls her foot back and retreats a couple of steps. She carefully kneels down when his blue eyes open to meet hers. She takes a small breath and says, "I have a couple of questions, and I don't plan to leave until you answer me."

Shuu simply stares at her before rolling so his back is facing her. She frowns, but she doesn't plan to move any closer to him than she already was. After a couple minutes of silence, she stands up and skirts her way around him until she stands before the piano. She has never played in her life, so she decides to just push random notes until Shuu decides to stop her.

It takes longer than she thought it would, but he finally releases a sigh. The last note seems to drag out. She turns her attention from the piano to the vampire and gives him a determined look. Without waiting for him to say anything, she asks, "Was Laito suspended again?"

Shuu simply nods. His eyes slowly close, but Mai doesn't let it bother her. That would explain why he was absent on the ride to school. She moves onto her next topic. "Yui is behaving weirdly today. Do you know why?"

"It's the awakening," he tiredly mutters. She frowns at him. "She appears normal to me. If anyone is being a freak, it would be you."

She clenches her fists, but she decides to let the insult go. A wave of icy cold air washes over her entire body, and she spins to see if someone has opened the door. To her surprise, there is no one there. After a few seconds, another chill runs down her spine. She turns only to come face to face with Shuu's chest. He slowly runs his hand through his hair and steps around her. She quickly moves back in his path and looks up at him. "I want to know more about the triplet's mother."

Shuu simply stares down at her with an unreadable expression, though she wants to say that he looks curious. He suddenly leans down till his cheek almost touches hers. His voice is low when he mutters. "Her name was Cordelia. She had purple hair, similar to Kanato. If you have more questions, why don't you ask one of them?"

Without waiting for her to respond, he simply disappears. She glances toward the door only to find it closed. With a sigh, she settles down into one of the chairs. Shuu had probably wandered off to a different hiding spot. It'd take her a good chunk of the day to find him again. She closes her eyes and decides to attempt to just find Ayato. She finally drags herself up and slips out of the room. First, she'd go to the nurse's office and take a nap.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

It's now lunch, and she just finished her food alone. She has been trying to find Yui and Ayato for the last twenty minutes, but it looks like they have disappeared. Something shifts in the corner of her eye, making her look in that direction. She sees someone disappear around the corner, but she doesn't get a good look at them. She didn't have any desire to follow after them either. Unfortunately, this has been happening since her talk with Shuu. In fact, she spent most of the school day so far in the nurse's office with a blanket over her head. She jumps when she hears faint singing echoing eerily down the halls. She fights her urge to spin and walk away from it since it sounds like Kanato, and he is her last hope at finding out answers about Laito. With heavy footsteps, she makes her way toward the voice.

It comes as a surprise to find herself standing in front of a door that leads to the fire exit stairwell. She could hear Kanato singing a song on the opposite side of the door. Despite the fact that she's enjoying the sound of his voice, she wants to get the awkward conversation over with. She slowly pushes the door open and peeks inside. She sees a strange girl disappearing down the stairwell, but she couldn't see a face. Mai pushes the thoughts out of her mind and focuses on the purple haired vampire. He was sitting on the landing with his feet on the next stair down. She knew that Kanato must have heard her open the door, but he doesn't stops singing. Mai steps into the stairwell and slowly closes the door. When he finally stops, she says softly, "That was beautiful."

She moves to sit beside him and offers a smile. He gives her an unreadable look, but he doesn't say anything. He just hugs Teddy even tighter. With a jolt, Mai wonders if she's ever actually seeked Kanato out. She glances at the purple haired vampire, and guilt threatens to overwhelm her. Her eyes drop to stare at her hands, which were clenched over her legs. After a few minutes of awkward silence, she clears her throat. It becomes apparent that he doesn't plan to say anything, so she softly asks. "Where did you learn that song?"

"My mother," he mutters.

A sense of disbelief washes over her, and her gaze snaps up to look at him. This looks like it just fell into her lap. She wants to know more about their mother, and he just happens to be singing a song his mother taught him? She isn't sure she even believes in coincidence anymore. She jumps and looks over her shoulder when a cold breath brushes the back of her neck. Once again, she doesn't see anything at all. She flinches when a cold hand interlocks with her fingers, and her gaze snaps back to find concerned purple eyes staring at her. Her heart skips a beat, and she has to keep herself from pulling her hand back. Kanato suddenly leans over and places his head on her shoulder. She can't help the fact that she tenses, but she doesn't try to push him away. She closes her eyes and takes a steadying breath and tells herself that at least he isn't in a bad mood. She gives his hand a gentle squeeze and decides to take a chance and ask. "So, can you tell me about your mother?"

"I know what's different. I haven't had a chance to pinpoint it, since your scent is always covered by everyone else's," Kanato suddenly mutters. His body shifts closer to her, and she can hear him inhale deeply. "You actually smell sweeter."

Mai swallows hard and tries to come off as playful. "Did I smell bitter before?"

She forces a chuckle, but it echoes pathetically around the stairwell. Kanato shifts his head so that his soft hair tickles her jaw. His voice sounds strange, but she can't quite figure out why. "You smelled like a normal human, but you don't anymore."

She glances down at him curiously, but everything falls silent. In fact, it's silent for so long that she begins to zone out, so it comes as a slight surprise when Kanato starts talking. "She was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. She had the same color of hair as me."

A smug tone slowly takes over his voice, but it disappears only seconds later. In fact, he sounds cold. "She taught me that song. She use to have me sing it to her, while she was with Richter."

That statement causes her to glance at Kanato, but all she sees is his purple hair. Unable to find a respond to that, she simply remains silent. Kanato's thigh touches hers when he scoots as close as possible. Nervousness starts to eat at Mai. This is a bad idea. Being alone with him is a stupid idea. She shifts a little, but she freezes when he gives her hand a painful squeeze. In an effort to distract herself, she asks, "Did you love her?"

He lifts his head, but he doesn't look at her. Instead, he releases her hand and lifts Teddy up. A chill races down Mai's spine, and she glances over her shoulder. Like she thought, there's nothing there. Still, it doesn't do anything to calm her nerves. Something lands on her legs, causing her to quickly look back. To her absolute horror, she finds herself staring into Teddy's face. Her entire body stiffens and warning bells go off in her head. She slowly turns her gaze toward Kanato, who gives her a charming smile. His free hand suddenly reaches out to brush her cheek, and he says. "Do you want me to sing to you? You seem nervous."

"Ah…. I… Um, I appreciate it, but I was just curious about your…." She pauses. How can she word this without sounding weird? With a flinch, she realizes that she couldn't think of anything, so she slowly shakes her head and looks down at Teddy. She really, really doesn't want the stuffed animal sitting on her lap. It feels like she's being set up for disaster. Her eyes lift to find Kanato smiling at her, causing her unease to rise even more. Without thinking twice about it, she says, "So, I was looking for Ayato and Yui."

The smile disappears from his face, and her heart sinks. She watches the anger spread over his face. Her heart starts to race, and she scoots as close to the handrail as she possibly can. Her eyes never leave the vampire's face. He suddenly stands and turns to tower over her. To her absolute horror, tears were building up in his eyes. His voice takes on a louder pitch when he yells. "It's always Ayato or Laito! They get whatever they want! What is so great about them?!"

She shuffles further away when he literally stomps his foot. The sound reverberates loudly in her ears, but she's more concerned about the fact that he's crying. The tears actually start to fall down his face. Despite herself, she starts to feel guilty. He lets out a whimper and asks, "Why can't anyone just like me? What have I done wrong?"

Mai wraps an arm around Teddy and pulls him close, so she can stand. She knows that she has to do something before he continued on this path. After all, she will be the one to suffer the brunt of his anger should he decide to vent, and are plenty of ways to hurt her in a stairwell. Against her better judgement, she steps toward him and wraps her free arm around him in a loose hug. She opens her mouth to tell him that she likes him, but she closes her mouth without saying anything. She doesn't know if she even considered him a friend, and she doesn't want to risk escalating the situation even more by being caught in a lie. He makes a couple of hiccuping sounds and wraps his arms around her. It's all she can do to keep from stiffening. She jumps when his thumb rubs along her spine. She quickly pulls away and holds Teddy toward him. She tries to make her smile as genuine as possible. "I think he misses you!"

She watches Kanato stare at her with an unreadable look. His face is completely devoid of any tears, which struck her as odd. In fact, she can't find a single sign that he has been crying. That's when it occurs to her that he could have just been pretending to cry. With a shudder, she realizes that she's been played, but she shoves the thought out of her mind. After all, wasn't she doing a similar thing to him? Teddy's weight disappears, and she finds herself staring into Kanato's now innocent face. His head tilts to the right just a small amount furthering his child-like appearance. His voice is back to normal when he asks, "Was I the last one you came to?"

She opens her mouth to deny it, but she pauses and considers her answer carefully. After a few seconds, she says, "Well, I went to Shuu first, since he's the oldest you know. I just want to know more about….. Well… I want to know about your mother. Shuu told me to ask one of you guys. I thought about asking Ayato, but he is nowhere to be found."

"You didn't think about asking Laito?" Kanato asks softly. She simply answers with a shake of her head. He lets out a chuckle and tilts his head a little. She tenses when he gives her a sadistic look. "Did he do something cruel to you?"

She clears her throat and turns to flop back down onto the stair. There' no way that she's going to tell Kanato something so embarrassing. He would use it against her. She opts for wrapping her arms around her body and changing the subject, "I think Yui has been seeing your mother."

The air becomes tense, causing her to look up at Kanato, who once again has an unreadable expression on his face. She frowns as the silence drags on. Just when she considers asking him if he is ok, a ring rips through the air. She jumps and reaches into her pocket to pull out her phone. She could have sworn she turned the ringer off for school, and she doesn't remember turning it back up. She feels Kanato press lightly into her side. She turns her head enough see that he sitting beside her and is leaning close in order to read her phone. She turns her attention back to her phone. To her surprise, she finds that she has two text messages, though she only heard it ring once. With a shake of her head, she opens the first one to see that it's her mom telling her that her parents were working late once again. She bites back a groan. She flicks to the next one to find that it's a short list of things like pencils, notebooks, and a couple other female things. At the very bottom of the text, Yui asks her to buy them for her and promises to pay her back.

Mai stares at the text in disbelief before amusement bubbles up in the pit of her stomach. She can't help but laugh, though she isn't sure why. Movement at the landing below her catches her eye. She lifts her gaze expecting to see nothing there only to find a woman. She's absolutely beautiful and dressed in the beautiful white dress that Mai's slowly becoming accustomed to seeing. She's smiling up at Mai and Kanato, but the smile is the sad sort. Mai leaps up instantly and takes a shaking step back onto the landing. Her entire body stiffens when she watches blood starting to stain the white near the woman's chest. In fact, she could see a bulge forming right where the woman's heart is. She watches in horror as the skin starts to tear until it simply disappears, leaving a fist sized hole where the woman's heart should be. Mai's eyes flick up to see that the woman is still smiling like some sort of doll. Her face starts to melt away, as if she is rapidly decomposing. Mai lets out a scream when purple invades her vision, and she stumbles backward. She's not sure how it happens, but she feels herself tripping and falling backwards. Her upper back hits first, followed by her head. Thankfully, it isn't a far fall, so she doesn't think she's that hurt that much. Still, pain explodes through her brain, and she slumps to the floor. She is vaguely aware of Kanato leaning closer to her face, but sheis so focused on the fact that there are now three women standing directly behind him. Their voices start to overlap with Kanato's, and Mai can only curl up and cover her ears. Unfortunately, it only blocks out Kanato's voice. The women's voices sounded like they were directly inside her head. Her fingers dig painfully into her scalp, and she squeezes her eyes tightly closed. She can only pick out a few words here and there like.

"...doomed…."

"...stupid….."

"...learn….."

"Stop! Leave me alone!" Mai screams loudly. Thankfully, everything falls silent. She's faintly aware of something touching her arm, but she doesn't dare open her eyes to see who it is. She curls into a tighter ball and lets out a sob. Hands suddenly wrap around her wrists, and her hands are pulled away from her ears. She looks up to find that Kanato is grinning sadistically down at her.

Still, his voice comes out with a sense of mock concern when he asks, "Are you ok?"

Without an ounce of hesitation, she rips her hands away from him and reaches out to shove his chest hard, she scrambles to her feet and rushes out the door without looking back. The halls are full of students since the bell is about to ring. She quickly makes her way toward the front doors. She doesn't even stop to gather her things. She just hurries out the door and bolts across the parking lot. She doesn't care if Reiji finds out she is skipping school and punishes her for it. She couldn't stand to stay there any longer; however, the practically empty streets of the city isn't much better than the packed school. She keeps seeing someone disappear around corners or other objects at the edges of her vision. She just ducks her head and quickens her steps whenever one appears. Maybe if she got the stuff that Yui needs than she can distract herself. She finds a 24-hour store and heads inside. She gets strange looks as she passes people since she is still dressed in her uniform, but she chooses to ignore it. She grabs a couple of notebooks and some pencils before heading to the hygiene aisle.

"Do you know where Cordelia is?" A deep voice asks, causing her to jump. She spin around to find the green haired male she had only met once before. He is giving her a cold look. She opens and closes her mouth a couple of times, but she isn't able to say anything. The only thing she can think of is what Kanato told her. Richter takes a threatening step toward her, and she responds by taking a step back.

"I don't know," she finally says as clearly as she can. Anger twists his face, and she hugs the items closer to her chest. She notices something moving behind and turns her gaze in that direction. A woman disappears behind the end of the aisle, causing Mai to start to shake. Tears well up in her eyes, but she fights them as hard as she can. She forces her gaze back to Richter, only to find that he is giving her a look of disgust.

"Did you seriously give yourself over to one of those pathetic brats?"

Her face flushes a deep red, and she instantly feels completely humiliated. Could he possibly say it any louder? She doesn't bother trying to stop the snarl in her voice. "I don't think my body and what I do with it is any of your business. Now, go away, or I'll scream."

He takes another threatening step toward her. She retreats a step and takes a deep breath as a show that she is about to scream. Thankfully, it works, since he seems to think better of continuing to approach her. "She is mine!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mai mutters.

"Ma'am?"

She jumps at the sound of a new voice and turns to find a store employee standing there. He gives her a nervous once over. "Are… are you alright?"

"Ah…" she says, completely unsure why he would ask such a question. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you've been standing here talking to yourself for a few minutes," he says in a barely audible. Mai's mouth falls open, and she turns her gaze back to Richter, only to find that he isn't standing there anymore. Confusion followed by humiliation fills her entire body.

"I…. I…." She spins and shoves the items she has collected at the employee. "I'm so sorry!"

She bolts out of the store without making sure he had the stuff. Her quaking hands find her phone. She tries calling her parents, but it just goes straight to voicemail. The same happens with both Yui and Ayato's phones. She ducks her head and continues on her path home, but she doesn't relish the thought of being alone. Not with the women floating around the edges of her vision. Another person comes to mind, and she lifts her phone to start calling Laito when her phone rings. She lets out a surprised squeal and drops it. The phone makes a heart stopping cracking noise when it hits the cement of the sidewalk, but it continues to ring. Her heart races when she leans down to quickly scoop it up and inspect it for damage. With a sense of relief, she finds it's only the case that is cracked. She notices that Reiji is calling and flinches. She manages to answer it before the voicemail does. Unfortunately, she doesn't get a chance to even say 'hello'.

"You have skipped school. You are to report to our house tonight for your punishment."

That is all that is he says to her before he hangs up. Mai flinches and pulls the phone away to look at it. Her gaze is drawn to the sound of laughter. There is a small group of younger adults walking past her. Her eyes widen when she sees a woman in white walking in between two of the females. Mai's eyes widen, and she forces her attention back to her phone. She quickly locates Laito's name and hits the call button. Despite herself, she lifts her eyes to the group to find that the woman is still in the group. She's smiling and talking to one of the males beside her. Relief floods through Mai's body. She lets her eyes drift closed and silently tells herself that she's just making herself paranoid.

"Hello, Sweetheart," Laito's voice coos through the phone at her. She's not sure why, but her hands start to shake so bad that she can't keep the phone by her ear. She simply lets her hand fall to her side. Tears well up in her eyes, but she stubbornly them. What is she doing? Why did she think that things have gotten better? She jumps when she hears something behind her, but she doesn't dare turn to look. She jumps when an arm wraps around her shoulders, and a gentle shove forces her to start walking. She glances up at Laito. He seems to notice her looking at him, since he glances down at her with an arrogant smile. Still, she felt so grateful that he came to help her. She opens her mouth to thank him, when he says, "you just can't get enough of me, can you?"

Mai's mouth slams shut, and anger starts to burn in the pit of her stomach. She reaches up to shove his arm off of her shoulder and quickens her pace. She should have known better than to be grateful to someone like him. He lets out a laugh at the sour look on her face. She glances over her shoulder, though she's not sure what she's looking for. Thankfully, she can't see anything out of the ordinary aside from the vampire following her. Her eyes shift to his face, and she can't but wonder if she is any safer with Laito.

She hopes that she is, but she finds it hard to feel certain.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! This chapter may touch on some sensitive notes since there are some under the belief that Mai is harming herself.

Laito prods her until she simply follows after him. Finally, they arrive at a children’s park. Mai casts a confused glance at his back, but she’s simply ignored. He just drifts further into the park before stopping beside a swing set. Mai remains rooted in place at the edge of the playground equipment and continues to stare at him. She has a feeling that she isn’t going to enjoy what he has planned. Still, she can’t help but think it might be somewhat amusing to watch the teenage vampire trying to swing on the swing set that he was approaching. Somehow, she manages to bite back the smirk. The smirk melts away when Laito turns to face her with a sadistic smile. He makes a ‘come here’ gesture with his hand then gently pats the seat of the swing. Bewildered, Mai simply shakes her head and retreats a step. Unfortunately, this only seems to amuse him more, and they fall into a silent staring contest. Despite trying her hardest, Mai ends up making a mistake by looking away. She shudders softly in the cold night air. Thankfully, her voice comes out equally as cold. “I’m going home.”

 

She turns just in time to see him appear before her. She stiffens her body and stares at him. Now that she’s closer, she can clearly see that his smile isn’t amused at all. In fact, even the air around him seems colder. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees movement. She almost turns to look at it, but a hand catches her chin. Her eyes shift back to look up at him, only to find that he is leaning too close for comfort. To her absolute horror, his cold lips press against hers, but she doesn’t bother kissing him back. She closes her eyes and waits for him to grow bored. Unfortunately, he seems to have something else in mind. Without any sort of warning, his fangs sink into her bottom lip far enough that the tips poke through the skin under her lip. The only good new is that only his fangs sink into her lip. Out of pure reaction to the pain, she flinches back. Unfortunately, he doesn’t bother to stop her, nor does he release his fangs from her lip.

 

Excruciating pain races through her bottom lip as the skin gives way, and she lifts a hand to press against it. Warm blood spills onto her hand and into her mouth, but she’s too preoccupied with retreating behind a slide to really care. Tears fall down her face and leave cooling trails behind. She flinches down when there is a bang on the slide over her head. Without considering her options, she weaves her way beneath the playground equipment and rushes toward the street. In the back of her mind, she knew she would never make it, but she still wants to try. Just like she predicts, an arm wraps around her waist and scoops her up. She lets out a scream and twists. Luck still seems to be on her side when her elbow collides with the side of his head. To her surprise, he lets himself collapse only he drags her down with him. Her body is mostly cushioned by his, but her head still cracks painfully against his. She immediately begins to thrash in the grass, but Laito keeps a bone crushing grip on her. Eventually, she just stops moving and lays ontop of him. His face appears in the crook of her neck. Her entire body stiffens, and her heart starts to race. Thankfully, he only releases a sigh. She lifts a hand to touch her lip, only to find it still bleeding. With a flinch, she lifts the collar of her shirt to press against it.

 

An overwhelming sense of being watched prompts her to lift her gaze. To her mounting horror, she finds three women who look badly decomposed standing at the edges of the park. It looks almost like they were wailing, but she couldn’t hear anything than her own heart and her own breathing. Laito’s body shifts, and she finds herself on her back staring up at him. She attempts to glance toward the women again, but Laito’s arm appears to block her view. She turns her gaze to glare up at him. He chuckles and leans down to press his lips to her nose.

 

She flinches and casts a glare his way. “Ge-”

 

“You haven’t told me you love me yet, Sweetheart,” Laito coos at her. He reaches a hand up to grab her shirt and pull it away from her face. “If you do, I’ll give you a fantastic reward!”

 

“You are doomed!” The sound echoes around the park, and her gaze snaps around in a vain attempt to find the source. She opens her mouth to say something, but Laito cuts her off.

 

“Come on. You know….”

 

“Run away, little girl!”

 

“....that you love…”

 

“He will ruin you!”

 

“...me. Now, just say it!”

 

Her eyes squeeze shut. It’s so hard to hear what was being said. It sounded like everyone’s voices were overlapping. She flinches when she feels his cold tongue running along her jaw. She tries to turn her head away, but he simply shifts in order to follow her. Her heart starts to pound when she feels the fingers of his hand sliding over her neck before dipping down the neckline to trace her collarbone.

 

“Laito, stop,” she breathlessly begs. Panic threatens to overwhelm and suffocate her. She attempts to shove him away, but he doesn’t move an inch. She turns her face the opposite way and tries to force herself to breathe. Unfortunately, that’s when Laito’s entire body shifts. Without warning, his knee appears between her thighs. She attempts to stop him by pressing her thighs tightly together. Thankfully, she is able to stop him just short of her core. Still, full panic had set in. She shoves his chest as hard as she can. “Get off!”

 

He responds by chuckling and grinding his knee closer to her core. Her efforts are doubled when she hears the womens’ screaming growing louder. Mai thinks she can hear them calling names, but she doesn’t know who they are talking to. She flinches when Laito’s teeth brush her cheekbone only an inch or so below her eye. Her eyes snap open.

 

He wouldn’t. He can’t. She closes her eyes tightly when she sees his mouth slowly approaching her eye. Now isn’t the time to be stubborn. Despite the sinking feeling in her stomach, she opens her mouth and loudly says, “OK! I love you!”

 

Everything goes silent, but she feels like something other than Laito is sitting on her chest. She cautiously opens one eye to meet amused green ones. Laito’s face is inches from hers, but he appears to be smiling mockingly at her. His voice holds a teasing edge to it when he asks, “what did you say? I didn’t quite hear you.”

 

She gives him the best glare she can manage, but she knows it’s ruined by the fact that she’s shaking. She grits her teeth and forces herself to say it one more time. “I….love…..you, Laito.”

 

Her eyes move away from his to look at the playground equipment, and she forces her body to completely relax. She silently hopes that his ‘reward’ isn’t trying to sleep with her at a public park. Humiliation fills her chest, and she squeezes her eyes shut. At least the women aren’t screaming anymore. She considers looking for them, but she decides that she doesn’t want to see them again. Her body is already shaking uncontrollably. She slowly opens her eyes when she feels Laito getting off of her. With a mixed feeling of relief and apprehension, she turns her gaze on him. He holds out a hand and says, “Ready for your surprise?”

 

She is careful to inspect his hand before she decides to just climb to her feet on her own. Unfortunately the second she is completely upright, he wraps his hand around her upper arm. Like before, she’s a little startled and concerned by the fact that the world spins for what feels like a couple seconds shorter than normal. When everything finally stops, she finds herself in a strange place. A large bed four poster bed with a canopy on top is almost pressed against one wall. Beside it is doors to a balcony. Toys are strewn all over the floor. Laito carelessly walks over to top of them toward the bed, where he flops down and leans against one of the posts. Mai casts a frustrated glance at Laito before crouching to make sure that nothing had been damaged. Thankfully, nothing looks broken. She straightens and turns her gaze to look around the room. It looks like a child’s room, but she couldn’t figure out who it belongs to. Still, she has a sense of dread filling her body. Her gaze turns to find Laito observing her with a frown that sent chills down her spine. She quickly turns her gaze away and glances around for the door. That’s when a picture above the fireplace catches her eye. The woman in the picture was beautiful. She had long flowing purple hair along with piercing green eyes. With a jolt, Mai realizes that it was probably their mother.

 

“Hey, Mai?”

 

The sound of her name has her snapping her gaze back to him. A sense of unease fills her body. He was sitting up with a serious look on his face. She takes a few steps backward. Unfortunately, her leg bumps something that draws her attention backwards. Thankfully, it just appears to be a wooden riding horse. She flinches when she feels something cold brush her cheek, and her gaze snaps around to find Laito practically towering over her. Her breath catches in her throat, and it feels like everything around the room is closing in and suffocating her. A slow smile spreads over his face, which just makes everything worse. In a sultry voice, he asks, “Do you know who’s room this is?”

 

She leans away from him and tries to keep a cold look on her face. “I have n-”

 

Then it hits her. It’s the room of the most childlike brother of all. Her mouth slams shut with an audible sound, and she feels an overwhelming need to get out of the room. Laito leans back and flicks his hand in a lazy manner. “I could smell him on you, so I assumed that I’d treat you by letting you see him.”

 

Mai can only stare at him in disbelief. She opens her mouth to say something when a resounding crack comes from the floor. She looks down to find that Laito had stepped on yet another toy. She doesn’t get a chance to say anything, because he literally disappears from view. To her absolute horror, she hears something else breaking. She spins around to find that he upended a toy chest with a look of excitement on his face. His green eyes lift to meet hers, and she feels a sense of anger fill her body. She carefully picks her way over to him. Without intending to, she snaps, “What the hell are you doing?!”

 

He gives her a playful smile and says, “Playing with Kanato.”

 

“This isn’t playing. You’re destroying his things!” Mai argues. She reaches out to snatch a stuffed toy from Laito’s hands before he has a chance to rip it apart. He lets out a laugh and reaches for a different one. She’s not sure why, but her anger continues to grow. She forces her body between Laito’s and the toys.

 

“Ah, I didn’t expect you to cosy up to me, so easily. Do you care for Kanato that much?” Laito coos playfully. He suddenly leans down as if to kiss her. Mai does the first thing she can think of. She lifts the stuffed animal that she had taken from him. Thankfully, it appears between the two of them at the right moment. He had inadvertently kissed his brother’s stuffed animal. A sense of satisfaction swells in the pit of her stomach when she sees his eyes widen slightly in surprise. Amusement swells up in the pit of her stomach. She presses Kanato’s stuffed animal closer to her face to stifle her laughter, but she ends up laughing so hard that tears appear in her eyes. She squeezes her eyes shut, which is her undoing. She hears a scoff seconds before Laito’s hand appears around her throat. All of the laughter dies instantly. Her eyes snap open, but all she sees is Laito’s amused face seconds before he shoves her backwards. Completely caught off guard, she takes a step back, only to step on the pile of toys. Unfortunately, the toy she stepped on rolls, and her body pitches backward. Thankfully, a majority of her body manages to land on soft toys. A few dig into various parts of her body. She lets out a surprised sound and turns a cold look on Laito, only to find that he isn’t there anymore. She scrambles up to her feet, only to trip a couple of times. She finally sees that the door is open just a crack. Despite her better judgement, she quickly makes her way over to it and rips it open.

 

She fully expects Laito to be standing there. To her surprise, she finds the hallway empty. She glances back into the dark room and wonders is she should pick up the toys, but she decides against it. She would likely just put them in the wrong spot anyway. She turns, cautiously steps out into the hallway, and shuts Kanato’s door. Still expecting him to pop out of nowhere, she looks up and down the hallway. A sense of relief floods her body when she still finds it empty. After stand there silently for a few moments, she decides that she should try to leave. After all, the brothers will be returning at some point, and she doesn’t plan to take the brunt of Kanato’s anger.

 

She decides to head home, since she will be the safest there. She cringes when she remembers what Reiji had said to her. Would she really be safe at home? Dread starts to fill her stomach, and she finds herself jumping at every sound that the empty manor makes. She starts one way, only to turn and head the other way. Once again, she stops. What is she going to do? She doesn’t relish the thought of being punished by Reiji. In fact, she flinches at the very thought. He was not happy that she had disobeyed him, and there were a variety of ways that he could hurt her both mentally and physically.

 

Her mind begins to race through each one of them. In fact, she’s so distracted that she jumps when someone puts their hand on her shoulder. She spins around fully expecting to come face to face with either one of the haunting women or Laito. Thankfully, she finds herself staring into Yui’s concerned face. Yui glances over her shoulder and looks back at Mai. Her voice drops, and she whispers, “I heard that you skipped school, so I came to look for you. Are you OK?”

 

Mai cringes at the thought once more. Why did it feel like she’s been skipping an awful lot of school recently? She opens her mouth to explain when she gets a surprise. Yui gives her a light nudge. Yui’s face holds a hint of desperation that has Mai’s heart racing. Once again, Mai felt as if something was very wrong. Yui’s words are so low that Mai can barely hear her. “Ayato said something about Reiji being upset.”

 

The blonde’s voice lowers even more, so Mai becomes unable to hear the rest of her words. Still, it feels like the night just kept getting worse and worse. Yui glances over her shoulder once more then turns her red crimson gaze back to Mai. Her eyes lock with Mai’s lip, and a look of concern overtakes everything else. “Mai? What happened to your lip?”

 

Mai cringes. She’s not sure why, but her eyes flick around the hallway. She didn’t want to think about what happened in the park, so she pushes the thoughts from her mind and focuses on a more important issue. Perhaps it would be better to hide from Reiji. The thought makes her flinch. It’s likely that it will only anger him more, and her punishment will be worsened. Still, the thought of having to face him tonight causes her flight instincts to kick in. It feels like so much has already happened in such a short amount of time that she just wants a break for once. Without a second thought, her hand lashes out to grab Yui’s arm. She gives her friend the best pleading look she can muster and says, “Let’s find somewhere else to talk. I don’t feel like confronting Reiji tonight.”

 

Yui gives her a startled look. Her next words have Mai cringing. “Are you OK? Did something happen to you?”

 

Mai forces a smile on her face and says in the quietest voice she can. “Can we find somewhere else that is somewhat private?”

 

Yui gives her a skeptical look but thankfully nods. Mai’s eyes turn toward the hallway. Now, she just has to find a place to hide. Where can she hide that Reiji wouldn’t follow? He could probably smell her blood drying, so it will have to be somewhere she went a lot. With a sinking feeling, she has an idea. She casts a glance at her friend. The second their eyes meet, Mai gives her arm a gentle tug before leading the way to her hiding place.

 

It doesn’t take long to finally get there, but Yui’s doubts are already written all over her face. Her voice is barely above a whisper when she asks, “You chose here?”

 

Mai tries to swallow the lump forming in her throat and gives her friend a nod. She takes a deep breath to steady her nerves. She turns her attention back to the door, reaches out, grabs the door handle and lets herself in. She only takes one step in before she pauses to look back at the blonde. She keeps her voice low and says, “Well, think about it. Reiji hates him, so the chances that he will look here are slimmer. On the off chance that he does show up, I figured that you and I have spent quite a bit of time in here, so it’ll have strong traces of our scent. Besides, Shuu’s scent might overwhelm ours and make it impossible to tell if we are here or not.”

 

Yui still gives her a doubtful look. “What do we do if he comes back?”

 

Mai forces a smile to her face. “Yui, it’s Shuu. I don’t think he’ll like it. But as long as we are quiet, do you think he will even care?”

 

With a look of doubt still plastered on her face, Yui gives in and steps into the lazy vampire’s room. Mai gives her friend an apologetic look, before she makes her way down the stairs and toward the bed. She’s faintly aware that Yui shuts the door, but her mind is preoccupied with what she is and isn’t going to tell the blonde human. Finally, the two girls settle on the floor behind the bed and lean back against it. Silence settles between them as Mai tries to figure out where to start. While she is thinking, she lifts her finger to her lip in order to see if it had stopped bleeding. The moment her finger touches the skin, she flinches. Without a second thought, she tells Yui about what happened before school had even started. She retells her about what she heard Laito saying, which is followed by what Yui herself had done. She doesn’t give Yui a chance to respond. Instead, she jumps into her conversation with Shuu, which she follows by seeing an increase in the women like figures. Her body starts to shake when the fear starts to set in all over again. She tells the silent girl about how she tried to get the stuff Yui had asked for, followed by talking with Richter. Once she gets to Laito’s kiss in the park, everything seems to overflow. Her story starts to jump all over the place, and she can only hope that Yui can keep up with everything. She wants to feel embarrassed by coming bare, but she finds that it’s actually the opposite. Immediately, it feels as if a huge weight was lifted off her chest. Without warning, a sob breaks through her words, and it gets to the point that she can’t talk anymore. She simply buries her face in her knees and tries to fight the tears. Her body starts to shake with the sobs, and she feels like she can’t breathe. Why did it come to this? She keeps thinking that over and over in her mind. She’s vaguely aware of Yui saying something, but she can’t hear her friend over the sound of her own crying. 

 

An arm hesitantly wraps around her shoulders and pulls her against a warm body. She’s not sure how long she sits there crying, but she finally manages to reign her emotions in. Now, she just felt humiliated that she actually told her friend about what happened between her and Laito. It’s even worse that she told Yui about seeing and hearing things other people couldn’t. She hugs her knees even tighter. She was afraid to look at the petite blonde, because she was afraid of seeing a look of disbelief, or worse pity, on her face. She asks softly, “Yui? Did Ayato ever do something like that to you?”

 

Yui falls silent, and she pulls herself away. Mai finally turns her gaze on her friend. Yui’s face held a look of pain, but she quickly clears it away. “Well, I can’t say he’s gentle, but….”

 

Yui trails off causing Mai to snort and turn her gaze to Shuu’s wall. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, an idea occurs to Mai. She says softly, “We should run away.”

 

“Mai,” Yui says softly. It sounded like it was supposed to be some sort of warning, but Mai stubbornly shakes her head.

 

“I don’t know, Yui. I don’t think it’s healthy here. I mean, you’re having those chest pains, and I’m seeing things. This has never happened to me before, and I remember you telling me that you’ve never had heart problems before. Did you ever think it’s from the stress of being here?” She turns her gaze back to her friend and continues. “I mean, I was perfectly normal before I ran into this mess, and I’m sure you were too. I think it’s this…... this place. Maybe..”

 

“I love Ayato,” Yui says softly, as if that would change things. Unfortunately, this simple statement takes Mai by surprise. She finds herself staring at the side of Yui’s face, who is staring intently at the ground. Finally, Mai manages to find her voice again.

 

“Do you really love him? Or do you think it’s something like Stockholm Syndrome? I mean they are your…”

 

“Enough, Mai,” Yui says softly. Mai feels as if her heart just sank to the pit of her stomach. Yui sounded so hurt that it makes Mai instantly regret asking her. She tries to push the thoughts from her mind, but they keep surfacing. Once more, Yui takes Mai by surprise by asking. “Don’t you feel something for Laito?”

 

Mai flinches at the thought. Did she feel something for him? She found that she couldn’t really answer that question. In fact, she found that she doesn’t really want to answer it. This causes the two of them to lapse into an uncomfortable silence.

 

Mai knew it was inevitable that Shuu would show up, but it’s still embarrassing to hear him suddenly sigh. She slowly looks up into tried, but cold, blue eyes. He looks as if he were about to fall asleep standing up, and his voice reflected it. “What are you two doing here?”

 

Yui answers before Mai gets a chance. “We are hiding from Reiji.”

 

Mai flinches at that and casts Yui a glare. Did she really need to say it so bluntly? Yui simply gives her an innocent smile making Mai roll her eyes. A chuckle drags both the girls’ attention upward. Shuu isn’t exactly smiling, but he still somehow looks amused. He tiredly sighs out. “Whatever.”

 

He steps out of view, and Mai turns to rest her chin on her knees. Her eyes meet the wall, and she finds herself thinking over her situation. She fully expects to hear the bed shift, but she doesn’t hear a sound. Unfortunately, she finds herself unable to do much thinking since Yui’s voice cuts through her thoughts. “Shuu! You can’t sleep in your uniform!”

 

He makes a scoffing sound and mutters about her being loud, but Yui is already on her feet. Mai turns her gaze to look up at her friend, only to find the blonde attempting to give the lazy vampire a fierce glare. Unfortunately, the look is ruined when Shuu states coldly. “I don’t remember calling for my mother.”

 

As Mai watches, Yui’s face turns a brilliant red color. Despite everything, Mai can’t help but stifle a chuckle. With a jolt, she realizes that she feels genuinely amused. This only increases when she watches Yui stomp her foot like a child. She stubbornly says, “You won’t be able to get comfortable in such restricting clothes.”

 

Mai almost smacks herself in the forehead. How could she still be so innocent? A chuckle from Shuu only makes Mai cringe. Unfortunately, Yui still doesn’t seem to understand her mistake, since she sternly says, “Shuu, take them off.”

 

“I thought you were with Ayato.” There was a hint of amusement in Shuu’s voice; however, it’s clear that he is already starting to doze off. Mai reaches up to grab Yui’s sleeve and attempts to tug before the blonde can dig herself a deeper hole. Unfortunately, she doesn’t manage to grab her friend’s attention in time.

 

“Ayato has nothing to do with this, Shuu. I’m talking about you taking off your clothes.”

 

Mai isn’t sure how she does it, but she manages to bite back the laugh that threatened to bubble out of her. Unfortunately, Shuu’s next words unravels her work. He calmly says, “Then undress me, perverted woman.”

 

The shocked sound from Yui, only makes it funnier. Unfortunately, her relief is short lived when there is a knock on the door. Panic sets in, and Mai somehow manages to find herself crammed beneath Shuu’s bed with her hand over her mouth. She closes her eyes tightly and listens while silently hoping that it isn’t Reiji. Everything is silent for a few moments before the voice she’s dreading starts talking. “Is she here, human?”

 

“Ah.” Yui says, and Mai silently hopes that she can come up with something believable. Unfortunately, the silence continues to drag on. Finally, Mai hears a sigh from Reiji. She fully expects him to know where she is and drag her out. To her surprise, the minutes tick by before Yui says softly, “Mai? I think he’s gone.”

 

Mai still remains beneath the bed for a few more minutes. Finally, she wiggles her way to the edge of the bed and peeks out. Thankfully, the room appears empty. She finishes dragging herself out and lifts up onto her knees in order to look over the bed at Yui, who gives her a look of concern. Finally, Yui’s red eyes shift back to Shuu. Mai glances down at him and lets out a groan. He’s clearly asleep. She turns her attention to find a pleading look on Yui’s face. Despite her own reluctance, she knows it’ll help keep her mind off of her panic.

 

___________________________________________________________________

 

Somehow, she manages to help Yui convince Shuu to change out of his school uniform; however, he starts to carelessly strip in front of the two of them. They quickly scurry out of the room with dark red faces. Upon leaving, they share a nervous glance before quietly deciding to eat and go to Yui’s room. Somehow, they manage to avoid Reiji while doing so. Thankfully, Ayato isn’t there when they arrived, So, they were able to do their homework and get to sleep. As Mai drifts off to sleep, she realizes that tomorrow was Friday. An overwhelming sense of relief floods over her. She only has to wake Shuu up one more week.

 

Unfortunately, their morning is chaotic. It starts with a knock on the door, effectively waking her up. She can faintly hear Reiji informing Yui that it’s time to go to school. That’s the only warning she got before a foot is planted firmly in her lower back. Her body pitches forward, and she ends up grabbing the blanket to try to keep herself from falling off the bed. Unfortunately, it does nothing to help. It simply strips the bed of all blankets, and she ends up tangled in them. Yui lets out a gasp and says, “Ayato!”

 

Anger floods Mai’s body when she realizes that at some point during the day, Ayato had snuck into Yui’s room and crawled on the opposite side of Yui to sleep. It takes quite a bit of thrashing to wiggle free, but once she is free, she rudely flips Ayato off before quickly escaping the room. She’s vaguely aware of Yui calling for her to wait, but Mai doesn’t plan on waiting for Reiji to come back. She’s grateful to find the hallway completely empty, so she ducks her head and rushes to the blond vampire’s room. Somehow, her luck holds out, and she makes it to her destination without meeting a single vampire. She simply opens the door and slips inside. Just as she reaches the bottom of the stairs, a knock on the door has her jumping. She tenses and turns to face the door. She fully expects to see it opening and revealing Reiji. Her tension continues to mount when she doesn’t hear anything from the other side. Her heart stops completely, and she lets out a gasp when fingers press against her lower back. She leaps away from the touch and retreats up a couple of stairs before spinning to find Shuu standing there with a mildly amused look on his face. To her utter surprise, he’s already dressed. His tired eyes grow cold for a moment before he releases a yawn. Mai’s eyes narrow a little and she asks quietly, “Did… did you just touch me?”

 

He scoffs and takes a step up the stairs. “I asked you to move, but you ignored me. You don’t have to react so violently, vile woman.”

 

She presses herself against the wall to allow him to pass, which he does so without looking at her. Just when she thinks she’s safe, he pauses one step up and turns to look down at her with a curious look on his face. Her heart stops when he leans a little closer to her. Thankfully, he doesn’t touch her, but it’s clear that he’s sniffing the air around her. His voice comes out as almost a sigh. “You smell different.”

 

She opens her mouth to say something, but he cuts her off. “Ah. I see.”

 

Horror fills her stomach. Was he going to mention the fact that she slept with Laito? She quickly rushes out. “I didn’t want to sleep…”

 

“You didn’t shower.”

 

“...with….him….” Her face pales at the cold smile he is wearing. He simply turns away from her and continues to the door. She finds that she can only stare at her back. Finally, it feels like a switch is turned in her brain, and she calls out. “Hey! Wait! I have a qu-!”

 

He doesn’t stop, or even look back. He simply says, “you can hide in here from Reiji, if you promise not to sniff my underwear or something else perverted.”

 

Heat fills her face, and she clenches her fists. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get a chance to retort since he has already stepped out of the room and closed the door. With a sigh, she lets herself slowly sit down on the stairs and leans back against the wall. She closes her eyes and releases a slow breath. The silence begins to become overwhelming, so she opens her eyes. She finds herself still sitting on the stairs inside a vampire’s room. With a flinch, she realizes just how bizarre her life has become. She is calmly sitting in a male vampire’s bedroom. She has been bitten so many times that she had lost count, and it hasn’t been bothering her like it used to.

 

Her hands start to shake. When did she start accepting this as normal? With a jolt, she realizes that it isn’t just her. Yui and her parents were dragged into, too. Everything that she once considered normal has slowly shifted. She isn’t as close to her parents as she use to be. In fact, how long has it been since she last saw them? She spent more time at the Sakamaki household than she did at her own. She reaches up to run her hands into her hair and grips it tightly. The small sting does nothing to clear her mind. After everything that has happened to her, her parents and her friend, she’s just taking it without a complaint. She closes her eyes tightly and lets out a slow breath. She could remember asking Yui why she didn’t even try to fight Ayato, but Mai is now doing the exact same thing. She has lost everything to Laito, and she didn’t even react. With a sick feeling, she decides that she isn’t normal anymore.

 

Her chest gives a painful throb, and she lets out a whimper. Without realizing it, she finds herself crying once more. She’s unsure how long she sits there crying in Shuu’s room, but she finally convinces herself that she needs to get up and continue on with her life. Crying won’t change the past. With a renewed sense of determination, she mutters. “I’ll prove to him that he doesn’t affect me.”

 

That’s how she finds herself incredibly late to school. The teacher comments on her tardiness when she slips into her seat. She’s so late that she only has this class before lunch starts. She doesn’t bother glancing around the room at the stares. She just forces herself to focus on the chalkboard. Perhaps she’ll go home for lunch. It’d lower her chances of running into an angry Reiji. The thought has her cringing and unable to focus on what the teacher is saying. Careful to seem attentive, she mentally maps out how she’ll escape the school without being caught, and how she will make it to and from school without having to meet him.

 

Before long, the bell for lunch rings. She doesn’t hesitate to scoop all of her belongings and bolt. Unfortunately, she is only halfway toward the school exit when her name is called from behind. “Mai!”

 

She flinches at how Yui’s voice cuts through the drone of the rest of the students. She casts a quick look around the hallway before settling a glare on her friend. Thankfully, it looks like the vampire she’s avoiding hasn’t appeared yet, but that doesn’t mean that she should waste more time than necessary. After all, she can vividly imagine him popping out of any shadow. 

 

It takes her friend a moment to weave through the students, but she finally arrives. She stops before Mai and leans forward to pant softly. Mai wants to rush her, but the words die in her throat when Yui suddenly lunges at her. She wraps her arms tightly around Mai in a surprisingly bone crushing hug. She lets out a soft whimper and says, “I was so worried about you! I’m glad to see that you are safe!”

 

Her crimson eyes fill with tears and pity. She finds herself suddenly regretting telling Yui what had happened between her and Laito. She forces a smile onto her face and lets out a scoff. She waves her hand in front of her face. “Of course I’m safe. Now, please forget what I told you before. It’s not really that big of a deal.”

 

A look of shock and desperation spreads over Yui’s face, making Mai feel even worse. Yui’s voice is slowly starting to become a screech. “It is a big deal!”

 

Mai notices that students were turning to look at them. Her heart skips a beat, and she reaches out to grab Yui’s shoulders. She gives her friend a gentle shake and says softly. “Relax, Yui! Why don’t we grab lunch? I’ll buy it an..”

 

That’s when full terror takes over her entire body. Over Yui’s shoulder, she could see a familiar face in the crowd. If the cold expression on his face is any indication, then he is not happy. She finds herself clenching Yui’s shoulders tightly before whispering. “Reiji.”

 

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Yui’s face paling. She finally manages to turn her eyes away from Reiji’s cold gaze to meet Yui’s terrified one. Without a second thought, she says, “Run!”

 

She releases her friend and spins on her heel before weaving her way through the students. She turns a corner and glances back to make sure Yui’s following her. Just as her gaze meets Yui’s, her body collides hard with someone. The person lets out a groan, and Mai finds herself sitting on the ground. Yui appears beside her asking if she’s alright, but Mai ignores her in favor of looking up. She flinches upon finding cold brown eyes glaring down at her. A chill races down her spine. She doesn’t remember ever seeing anyone like him in school, and he’s memorable. He’s tall, and his most of his brown hair is pulled back into a ponytail. Still, a lot of it hung loosely around his face. Mai can only assume the reason she doesn’t recognize him is because he is an upperclassmen. He bares his teeth at her in a sneer, and she spots something that sends chills down her spine.

 

Fangs.

 

She feels Yui tense beside her, letting her know that she isn’t the only one who saw them. The strange boy takes a step toward Yui and Mai, causing Mai to scramble to her feet and retreat a couple of steps. Every muscle in her body is so tense that it’s becoming painful. The boy tilts his head, and, without warning, his hand lashes out to grab a fist full of her shirt. Yui lets out a soft sound of protest when the boy drags Mai’s body closer to his. She tries to hide the terror she is feeling by doubling her fists, but she doesn’t strike immediately. To be honest, she’s not sure punching him is a wise choice. She didn’t even know if it would hurt him, and she is already off balance since she has to stand on her tiptoes to avoid being held up solely by her shirt. He lets out a sadistic sounding chuckle and asks, “Aren’t you going to say sorry?”

 

Mai stubbornly glares at him, but she doesn’t get a chance to respond. Yui’s body collides with Mai’s, effectively winding her. Her friend’s arms wrap tightly around her stomach. To her frustration, she hears Yui saying. “I’m sorry! It was my fault! Please let her go!”

 

“Yuma! That’s not how you treat a lady!” A cheerful voice says from behind the large boy. To Mai’s relief, this seems to be just the distraction she needs to awkwardly twist away. Both girls retreat back a couple of steps before Yui suddenly stops moving. She lets out a surprised cry right in Mai’s ear, causing her to flinch away. Mai turns just in time to find a dark haired boy leaning into Yui from behind. Her friend is wearing a look of pure terror on her face. The boy has a very noticeable scar running over the top of his nose, but that’s all Mai can see since the rest of his face is hidden by Yui’s shoulder.

 

“Hey!” Mai snaps. She reaches out, grabs her friend, and jerks her away from the dark haired boy. He slowly opens his eyes, but he only focuses on the blonde who is now hiding behind Mai. Now that she could see him better, she could see that he has a bandage wrapped around his left arm. Despite the scar, he’s still incredibly handsome looking. Still, chills run down her spine at just the sight of him. The feeling of dread grows even worse by the fact that he doesn’t once look at Mai, despite her efforts to hide Yui with her own body. His gaze remains locked on her friend, prompting Mai to continue to try and obstruct his view. He tilts his head a little finally looks at her.

 

His voice is so low that Mai can barely hear him. “It….really is…..her.”

 

A scoff from the boy named Yuma makes Mai’s gaze snap back to him. To her absolute horror, she finds a new boy standing next to him. The new boy is incredibly handsome, which is further enhanced by the disarming smile he is giving the two girls. His clearly visible eye is a pretty blue color, while the other appears to be blue, but his hair is hiding it from clear view. He winks at them, which just causes Mai to press her body closer to Yui’s in an effort to hide the petite blonde. It seems like they were all looking solely at her friend. Unfortunately, her efforts to hide Yui go to waste since they clearly aren’t interested in her at all. Panic starts to build in Mai’s chest as the three males seem to close in from all directions. In fact, she’s starting to feel like she couldn’t breathe. Everything only gets worse when her view of them is cut off by someone’s body.

 

“I see that you three have no manners,” a horribly familiar voice calmly says. Dread makes Mai’s body feel even heavier. She sags back against Yui, who leans forward against Mai. Their running from him seems to have gone to waste. Reiji’s cold voice continues to cut through the nearly empty hallway. “As you can tell, these two have been claimed as food for the Sakamaki family.”

 

Mai’s body tenses, and she finds herself staring at the back of Reiji’s head. When did she agree to become food for anyone? She hears a soft sound behind her and glances back to find that Yui is pressing her hand to her mouth. She looks like she’s trying not to cry, which makes Mai’s heart sink. She carefully turns to give her friend a hug when the blonde disappears from her view. Stunned, she’s only able to stare at the now empty space before a hand wraps around her upper arm. She flinches when she feels a tug, but she doesn’t even bother to struggle. Her gaze lifts to find that it’s Reiji who is dragging her along behind him. Just as she passes the new blonde boy, he says softly, “Ah, sorry we got you in trouble! Let’s try to be friends, OK?”

 

She glances back to find the hallway empty. She releases a shudder and looks back at Reiji. After a couple of turns, he pauses before a door. Without warning, he opens it and jerks on her, causing her to stumble inside. Thankfully, she keeps her balance. She’s not sure why, but she feels a sense of relief. She turns to face Reiji only to notice something peeking in through the window on the door. To her absolute horror, she can see a decomposed face staring back at her. She feels something touch her arm, and she jerks away. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get a chance to pull away very far. Two hands latch onto her shoulders, and her body is violently shaken until her eyes lock with Reiji’s frowning face.

 

“Human, you are to listen when you are spoken to,” he sternly says. Mai opens her mouth, but she closes it seconds later. It’s probably best that she doesn’t argue with Reiji right then. She’s alone with him after all, and most of the students are far away in the cafeteria. Besides, she’s starting to feel sick to her stomach. It feels like she’s being watched. In an effort to calm her nerves, she closes her eyes tightly. To her surprise, she feels something cold against her forehead. She slowly reopens her eyes to find only Reiji in the room with her. One of his hands has released her shoulder and is touching her forehead. He gives her a once over before a look of disapproval appears on his face. “What have you done to yourself?”

 

She gives him a confused look, before she realizes that he’s looking at her lip. Dread fills her stomach, and she violently jerks herself away. She settles for glaring at him and says as strong as she can. “I didn’t do anything to myself.”

 

His face twists into a sneer for a moment before it smoothes back into a mask of indifference. “Does this have to do with Laito?”

 

Mai tries not to cringe, but she knows she fails. In an effort to cover up her blunder, she snaps, “It doesn’t have anything to do with Laito. What is my punishment?”

 

Everything falls silent before Reiji folds his arms over his chest. “If you have any concerns, you are to bring them to me.”

 

Anger starts to warm her stomach. Why is he so stuck on this subject when there is clearly nothing wrong with her? Unfortunately, the anger disappears into embarrassment when her stomach growls loudly. She fights the blush and quickly says, “I’ve already discussed it with Shuu. I can go to him, correct?”

 

A loud sound reverberates around the room, and she finds herself staring wide eyed up at Reiji. She’s so shocked that she doesn’t even know what happened for a few moments. Did he seriously just slap her? She finds herself staring at her shoes, while her brain tries to catch up with what happened. He suddenly says in a cold voice. “You are disgracing my family name. You have been known to have ties with us, but you show up to school whenever it pleases you. Your grades are slipping, and you look as if you have not slept in weeks. That good for nothing will not do anything to rectify the situation, if you truly did tell him. Now, I will ask you again. What have you done to yourself? If I am not satisfied with your answer, you will be punished right here.”

 

Mai grits her teeth and tightly closes her eyes. She slowly reaches up to touch her face. Despite her wishes, she tells him everything in detail. Embarrassment and shame swells in her chest when she glosses over the part that she slept with Laito. She makes sure to keep the details to a minimum. Thankfully, Reiji seems to accept her blunt way of saying that she spent the night with him. She flinches when she recounts the women she has been seeing. Finally, she finishes and lifts her gaze to look up at him. His usual mask of indifference is on his face, while he stares down at her. Finally, he closes his eyes and pushes up his glasses. His voice comes out surprisingly low. “Interesting.”

 

He opens his eyes to glare down at her. “Come to my room after school. Perhaps I can help you deal with your issue concerning Laito and these mysterious figures.”

 

He turns to leave but pauses at the door and glances back. “Ah, your punishment. You are to report to my room after school every day until I tell you otherwise. That will suffice for now.”

 

The small smile on his face leaves her feeling even worse than before. She shudders hard and reaches up to rub her arms. Why did it feel like everything was about to get worse? She suddenly finds that she isn’t hungry anymore.

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

She’s not thrilled to find that her class right after lunch has the blonde haired boy in it. He gives her an excited wave from behind a group of female students fawning over him. She rolls her eyes and sits in her seat. Before long, the girls have to go to their own class or sit down. That’s when she notices that across the room, Yuma is sitting by the window. The teacher gives both the new students a welcome before delving right into the history lesson. She jumps when she feels a tap on her shoulder and turns to find the blonde vampire smiling at her. He holds up a piece of paper then offers it to her. Mai glances at it before turning away without taking it. To her surprise, she finds it sitting in the center of her desk. She glances back with a glare to find him resting his chin in one hand. He doesn’t look at her once, and he manages to pull off paying attention to the teacher. Before she’s caught, she spins around to stare at the folded piece of paper. She has a feeling that she should just throw it away, but her curiosity gets the better of her. She cautiously opens it, trying to be as quiet as possible.

 

Hello, cutie!

 

I didn’t get you and your friend’s names earlier! So, can I ask your name now? I’m sorry if we caused you trouble with that upperclassmen! He sure was scary looking! Are you two OK? Ah, I wanted to apologize again for Yuma. I know he can be rough, but he’s a good guy. Oh! I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Kou! I hope that we can be friends!

 

The letter is written in incredibly neat handwriting. She frowns at it and gives a glance over her shoulder to find him giving her a charming smile once more. She rolls her eyes and turns her attention back to the teacher before she gets caught. After only a few minutes pass, something begins to incessantly nudge the back of her arm. With a sigh, she glances back to find Kou’s still smiling at her. He nudges her with the paper until she finally rips it away from him. She simply shoves it into her bag and turns back to the front. Once again, minutes pass before the incessant nudging starts all over again. She grips the edges of her desk in a white knuckled grip and attempts to fully ignore him. Finally, she decides that she can’t take it anymore and reaches back without looking. Paper brushes her hand, which she takes and pulls it in front of her. She quietly opens and smoothes it out. Her eyes glance down to find the same neat handwriting.

 

I’m sorry that I seem to be bothering you! It’s just that my brothers and I are new to this town. We could really use the help getting to know everything. Besides, we couldn’t help but notice that both you and that adorable blonde girl from before look so scared! If it’s Yuma, I can talk to him for you! We were also concerned, since it looked like you had hurt your lip. Are you OK? Did that scary boy from before do that to you? Don’t be scared to talk to me! We can help you guys! I promise.

 

Mai reads it over a few times before she closes her eyes and shakes her head. She glances up at the teacher. With a cold jolt, she realizes that the teacher is staring straight at her. Thankfully, it seems like he hasn’t stopped the lecture, but it’s still a clear warning. Mai offers a nervous smile and pretends to once again pay attention. Thankfully, the teacher turns his attention back to a powerpoint slide. Mai glances down at the note before her. Her teeth brush over her bottom lip, causing her to flinch. She finally picks up a pencil and quickly scribbles across the empty portion.

 

Please leave us alone. We have no idea who you are, nor do we want your supposed friendship. I saw fangs in that boy’s mouth. We know you are vampires, and se don’t need to get further tangled up with vampires.

 

She twists to place it on his desk and turns back around. She quickly raises her hand. Once the teacher asks her what she needs, she asks to use the restroom. Thankfully, she’s excused. She leaves her books on her desk and hurries out of the classroom. With her head down, she makes her way to the bathroom. Once there, she pulls out her phone and opens a text. With a jolt, she realizes that she originally considered texting one of the brothers to inform them of what Kou said in the note. She frowns at the phone and gives her head a shake. Finally, she decides to text a warning to Yui, since she seemed to be their focal point. Once she locates her friend’s name, she quickly tells Yui to stay away from the new students. She gives a brief run down that they seem strange and insist on being friends, but Mai has a bad feeling. She closes the phone and retreats to sink to wet her hands before running them over her face. She does this a few times before lifting her gaze to look at her bottom lip. It’s swollen and has nasty looking scabs covering it. She flinches and closes her eyes. She takes a deep breath and tries to think of something else. She finds her mind drifting back to Laito. Did she ever want to see him again?

 

The thought of what he had said that morning sent chills down her spine. She was still curious about why he would do that. She loosely grips the sink and tries to convince herself that she has to approach him to ask. She watches her own face begin to pale. She tells herself that there is no way she can escape him. She jumps when the lights flicker a couple of times and turns her gaze upward. They flicker back to life and seem to stabilize, so she tries to tell herself that florescent lighting always behaved weirdly. Once her eyes turn back to the mirror, she lets out a yelp of surprise. She spins around to face the girl that is standing only feet behind her. She looks to be around Mai’s age, only she has white hair. Her skin is snow white as well. The most shocking is her eyes. They were nothing but bloody jagged holes, as if someone had cut them out. Terror completely fills Mai’s entire body, and she wants to run, but she finds herself rooted to the spot.

 

The weirdest part is the girl is wearing the school’s uniform. She’s an inch or so shorter than Mai, but she’s also barefoot. She’s missing a sock, while the other looked to be caked in red colored mud. In fact, most of the uniform looks like it’s caked in the same reddish mud. There were numerous scars littering her skin, but there doesn’t seem to be any open wounds; however, around her neck there is a clear bruise that has formed. It eerily looked like hand prints. Mai swallows hard and tries to keep her eyes from meeting the empty holes where the girl’s eyes should be. A childish giggle echos off the walls.

 

“So...afraid.”

 

Mai recoils back and bolts for the door without a second thought, but the girl simply steps out of one of the stalls. She turns to face Mai once again, completely blocking the only exit. Mai retreats a few steps. Her body is shaking so badly that she feels like she could tip over at any second.

 

“Do I scare you?”

 

It sounds like two people are talking at once, but it’s still the clearest she has ever heard one of them talk. Each word is almost crystal clear. A lump forms in Mai’s throat, and her mouth goes dry. She feels like she can’t breathe. The room still felt warm, but Mai’s body felt so cold that the warmth is biting at her skin. The girl lets out a piercing laugh that makes Mai’s ears ache. Mai pulls her arms closer to her body and asks in a hesitant voice. “What…..what are y…..you?”

 

The girl releases another chuckle before stating in her eerie double voice. “Is that really what you want to ask? Time is short, you know.”

 

Mai feels her back press against the cool wall behind her, but she didn’t even know when she backed up so far. Her body is starting to feel numb. She gives her head a firm shake and says as steady as she can. “What do you want?”

 

The girl tilts her head. Inadvertently, the actions causes Mai to lift her gaze to stare at the girl’s empty holes. She flinches when a wicked smile spreads over the girl’s face. While Mai watches, her mouth doesn’t move, but Mai could still clearly hear her talking. “I want you. You have listen to me. It is very important.”

 

Mai makes the mistake of blinking. The girl appears inches in front of her. In fact, she’s so close that Mai’s sure that her chest will touch the girl’s if she were to breathe. Mai jerks her head back, hitting the wall behind her with a soft hiss. The girl tilts her head and leans forward. “They have polluted your blood by appearing to you.”

 

Mai wants to ask what she meant by that, but at that moment, the girl’s hands appear around Mai’s throat. As much as she doesn’t want to admit it, the hands feel warm and real. They start to squeeze, and panic takes over Mai’s mind. She reaches up to grab the girl’s wrists. The girl hisses softly. “Hundreds, if not thousands, of girls have been killed much sooner than you. Much sooner than that blonde bitch. Why must you two survive? Why does she get his attention?!”

 

The girl’s voice echos loudly around the bathroom. At this point, Mai isn’t able to breathe, and she’s desperately trying to pry the hands away from her neck. The girl lets out a loud unearthly howl that sends Mai’s panic into overdrive. She starts to scratch at the hands holding her throat. To her absolute disgust, the girls skin gives away in long chunks that drop to the floor with a sickening plopping sound, but there isn’t any blood at all. The girl lets out a loud scream. “Those stupid brides! They polluted you, so you caught that freak’s attention! You got special treatment! She gets special treatment! What was wrong with me?! Why couldn’t I stay by their side?! I loved them! They could do whatever they wanted! I didn’t care! Why?!”

 

Everything rushes back into reality. There is a female teacher calling her name and shaking Mai violently. Air rushes back into Mai’s lungs, and she lets out a savage cough. To her absolute horror, the bathroom suddenly becomes full of paramedics, but she didn’t understand why. Everything moves so quickly. A male paramedic assists her out of the bathroom. Unfortunately, the bell has already rung, so the halls were full of curious students. Mai keeps her head down as she walks. She doesn’t want to see anyone right then. She feels her phone vibrate, but she doesn’t even try to answer it.

 

________________________________________________________________

 

She finds herself sitting on a hospital bed in clothes her mother had brought. It was determined from the teacher’s account that she had some sort of seizure. The bruises around her neck were her own doing when she believed that she was suffocating. Several tests had been performed on her, but she doesn’t say a single word when the doctors ask her questions like if she could remember what happened directly before the episode. She knew that she didn’t have a seizure, but they wouldn’t believe her anyway. Her mother had stayed by her side and was clearly trying not to cry. Finally, after several hours, the doctors determined that she was simply having a mental breakdown, and she would just need to be observed overnight. She simply refused to look up from the blankets on the bed before her while he talked to her mother. She hadn’t bothered to correct them when they said that she was the one who had harmed her lip. They wouldn’t believe her anyway, so she had no reason to deny what they decided. They said they if she behaved differently they would inform her parents. After the observation period, they would help her parents decide what to do next. After all this is done, she is left to herself in an effort to help her relax. She lets herself fall back on the bed and roll onto her side. She closes her eyes and lets her mind lazily wander over everything that has happened. 

 

She hears a noise over her shoulder, but she finds that she doesn’t care enough to look. Her eyes open when she hears a sigh, but she closes them after only a few seconds. A familiar rumble spits out. “How pathetic.”

 

She slowly opens her eyes to find that the chair by her bed is now preoccupied, and he didn’t look happy. Mai simply turns away from him again. Silence fills the air before she finally says, “Are you even real?”

 

“Is that what the humans are telling you?” Richter growls from behind her.

 

“Why are you here?” Mai asks. She forces her body to relax. She didn’t trust the vampire, but she is also tired, and she’s starting think that everything is just in her head anyway.

 

“It isn’t my choice to be here either, human. Besides, the bride will come to see to you, and you can ask them to keep those pests from entering,” Richter states coldly. Mai’s sits up and turns to face the green haired vampire. Her eyes narrow a little, but he simply gives her a look that is completely devoid of emotion. She had a feel that Tougo had asked him to watch over her, but this was only the third time she has seen Richter, and she has a feeling he’s completely uninterested in her. Still, it’s unnerving to her that he’s so interested in Yui. In an effort to distract herself, she decides to start questioning him.

 

“Do you know what is going on with me?” She asks. All she receives is a cold stare. She grits her teeth, and anger fills her chest. She continues to keep his stare in hopes that it will make him talk. Finally, it seems to work, since he makes an annoyed sound in the back of his throat.

 

“Those brats haven’t told you?” Upon seeing Mai shake her head a little, a cold smile spreads over his face. His voice holds a small hint of delight. “So, they must not have figured it out.”

 

He leans back, clearly seeming to gloat over the fact that he knew something that his nephews did not. He closes his eyes and lets out a slow breath. When he finally opens his eyes again, they pin her with a cold look. A chill runs down her spine, and she considers changing her mind. Unfortunately, he doesn’t give her a chance to. “You are slowly changing. Not in the way that...the bride is, but you have come into contact with the dead brides’ souls. It’s likely due to the fact that Yui is…..unique. Her presence is what is affecting you.”

 

Mai finds herself clenching the blankets. She’s finally getting the answers she has been longing for, but now she has even more questions. She opens her mouth to ask, but she doesn’t get a chance. Richter simply continues. “You are no longer fully human thanks to your experiences with the brides. Tougo set it that way; however, it’s usually only the current bride who can see them. You must not have been a simple human to start with, or it could just have been an accident that you saw them. Tougo may be bored with the current way things are done, since Yui is obviously going to be the successful bride. I think he reached out and changed something within you.”

 

Mai cringes at the sound of that. She shifts uncomfortably but refrains from letting her mind worry about how Tougo could have changed anything. She swallows hard and gives him a nervous stare. Is she sure she wants to know more? She decides that she can’t stop now. She finally has someone who’s willing to talk to her, and she has to finish finding out all she can. She opens her mouth to ask. “So, does that mean I’m not human?”

 

He doesn’t say anything, which makes her heart sink to the pit of her stomach. She asks a different question. “Then what am I?”

 

He releases a sigh, as if she were bothering him. His gaze lifts to find the clock on the wall before he turns his attention back to her. “You’re still human, but I believe that you aren’t fully human. It’s unlikely that you a candidate for a bride either. You simply exist. A placeholder between two different worlds, though I’m not sure of your importance yet.”

 

His voice is cold, and it sounds as if he plans to be done discussing the topic. She turns her attention back to her lap and thinks over this new information. It’s quiet enough that the clock could be heard ticking away. She jumps when he starts to talk again. “I thought you were under that perverts thumb; however, you smell like that lazy, good-for-nothing older son. Does a woman’s heart change so easily?”

 

He sounded mocking, and it makes her clench her fists tightly. She doesn’t plan to actually answer him, though. The sound of his scoff lets her know that she has played right into his hands, but she doesn’t care. She simply continues to stare at the blanket. She jumps once again when he starts talking. “Did that boy force himself on you?”

 

Once again, she doesn’t answer. He lets out an amused sounding chuckle. “Poor little human. You couldn’t possibly understand.”

 

That catches her attention, and she lifts her gaze to silently observe him. Her gaze locks with his, and an amused look takes over his face. He suddenly leans forward and points toward her phone. His voice is so low that it’s barely audible. “Call the bride here. Ask her to come without that pest that is leeching off of her. If you do, I’ll tell you all about those bastards.”

 

Mai’s eyes narrow, and she quickly snatches up her phone. There’s no way that she’s going to willingly call her friend into danger. This vampire clearly has an unhealthy obsession with her. Richter’s cold gaze locks with Mai’s, and the minutes turn into hours. She stubbornly stares back at him. Finally, he lets out a chuckle that takes her by surprise. He leans forward again and says, “Your loyalty will be your downfall, human. He’ll only use that to manipulate the two of you.”

 

Mai jumps when there’s a knock on her door and reluctantly tears her gaze away to see who it is. To her absolute horror, she hears a familiar feminine voice through the door. “Are you awake, Mai?”

 

Mai’s gaze snaps back around to find that Richter is now sitting up right. A strange look overtakes his face. It looked almost heartbreakingly hopeful, but Mai still opens her mouth to tell Yui to run. Unfortunately, Richter’s gaze snaps to her, and a cold, furious look takes over his features. Suddenly, she finds herself unable to talk, and Yui unknowingly enters the room. Mai’s entire body begins shaking, and guilt threatens to consume her. Thankfully, Richter’s gaze moves from her to her friend. Finally, Mai feels that she’s able to move again, so she quickly turns her gaze to find Yui watching Richter with a curious look. Mai quickly scrambles up and tries to offer Yui a smile. She attempts to place her body between Yui and Richter and says, “It’s good to see you.”

 

Yui’s gaze shifts to her, and a look of concern floods her face. She reaches out to give Mai a tight squeeze. It was clear that her friend is also shaking. To her surprise, Yui lets out a soft whimpering noise. Mai awkwardly returns her friend’s hug, completely aware of the fact that Richter’s still in the room. Thankfully, he seems content to just observe, but that makes her feel even more uneasy. Finally, Mai pulls away and peeks out into the hallway before softly asking. “Is it just you?”

 

Yui shakes her head and glances back. “Well, Ayato has to make up a test that he failed on. Kanato offered to come, but Reiji insisted that it’s nothing more than you wanting attention and said that he will deal with your outburst.”

 

Mai cringes at the sound and starts to shake her head, but Yui offers a smile before her eyes lock with Mai’s throat. A look of concern takes over her face once more. She quietly says. “Reiji came to sort things out. He’s discussing something with your parents in the waiting room. The rest of the brothers went home, though I think that Laito might drop in later.”

 

Mai’s heart skips a beat, but she forces the thought from her mind. She glances back to find Richter still watching Yui intently. Mai swallows hard and gives her friend another hug then starts to nudge her out of the room. She makes herself sound as confident as possible. “Yui, I’m fine. I just haven’t been sleeping well, and I had a breakdown. Nothing big.”

 

“Does it have to do with Laito?” Yui asks softly. She resists being completely shoved out of the room. Mai’s body tenses, and she thinks it over for only a moment. Finally, she releases a sigh and shrugs.

 

“I suppose he didn’t help my stress level. Look, I just have a lot on my mind, and it didn’t help that…..”

 

The sympathetic look on her face causes Mai’s word to trail off. Suddenly, Yui grabs Mai’s hand and confidently says, “I know it hurts, but I promise that I’m here for you. It may not seem like it, but it gets better.”

 

Mai’s heart gives a painful lurch, and she finds tears welling up in her eyes. She desperately fights the tears, but she can’t stop herself from chuckling and gives Yui a smile. She could never describe just how much those words helped to ease a part of her mind. She didn’t understand how Yui could be so happy with Ayato, but it still comes as a relief. She reaches out to hug Yui once more. She says softly. “Thank you, Yui.”

 

She’s not sure how long they stood there hugging each other, but Reiji eventually shows up with a cold look at his uncle. He blatantly ignores the vampire and shoos Yui from the room. He turns to coldly inform Mai that she would be released the next day. He practically orders her to return to her own home where she would contact him in order to get her next instructions. Her last week of waking Shuu for school would be suspended for a couple of weeks, until Reiji himself determined she’s ready to return to the task. Until then, she is to keep up on her school work, but she is allowed to miss a couple of days as long as she received her homework from one of the triplets or Yui. He casts one last look at his uncle before pushing his glasses up and turns to leave. Just as he’s about leave, Mai calls out. “Wait, Reiji!”

 

She freezes the second those words leave her mouth. In fact, she’s not even sure why she called out to him. He pauses at the door and glances back at her. She frowns for a moment and looks at the blankets while her mind races for a suitable excuse. Finally, she settles on what happened with Kou during class, but she finds that she’s unsure how to bring up the topic. She fiddles with the blanket until she hears a sigh from Reiji. With a sense of determination, she pushes her thoughts out of her mind and lifts her gaze to meet Reiji’s indifferent stare. She tries to sound confident when she says, “I think those new students are going to be trouble for Yui. I think they are targeting her.”

 

He watches her silently for a few moments before scoffing and leaves without another word. Despite the obvious brush off, Mai still felt a sense of relief. She jumps when she hears another scoff and turns to glare at Richter to find that he is leaning back in the chair. For a moment, Mai considers hitting the call light for the nurse, but the green haired vampire’s cold look stops her. His voice comes out as an almost amused rubble. “You sure are a foolish child. Did you think you were smarter than those boys?”

 

Mai chooses to ignore his jab and continues to glare at him. He stares back at her for a moment before scoff. “I see.”

 

He stands up, and relief floods Mai’s entire body. If he’s leaving, it meant that she could finally relax. To her absolute frustration, he slowly paces around the bed and stops near the foot. His eyes slowly turn to focus on her once more. His voice is barely audible when he says, “Cordelia is mine. Not that brat’s.”

 

Confusion fills her chest, but she doesn’t say anything. She simply watches him. He reaches out to grab the foot board of her bed and leans forward a little. Still, it’s enough to send Mai’s heart into her throat. A look that can best be described as insane takes over his face for a brief second. It’s gone only seconds later, but she has an uncomfortable feeling that he allowed her to see it. He lets out a soft chuckle and says, “You, those boys, even that girl. None of you mean anything to my brother. You are all simply pawns that are dancing to his tune. That’s all you’ll ever be. Still, Cordelia showed up without that arrogant brat, so I’ll tell you a little about each of them, since your heart is so fickle.”

 

Mai opens her mouth to protest, but he doesn’t give her a chance. He straightens and immediately jumps in about Shuu. It appeared that he was born to the second wife, and he was expected to become the next head of the family. His mother did whatever was required to keep him in line. He seemed to be such a happy boy until a nearby human village burned to the ground. Afterwards, his entire personality changed. A look of horror seems to spur Richter to continue in even more detail. 

 

Reiji was the second born; however, it seemed that his mother never once acknowledged him. All of her time and attention went to shaping Shuu how she pleased. In fact, it didn’t seem as if anyone gave Reiji one shred of attention. He eventually hired some hunter to kill his mother. Mai’s fear of Reiji instantly spikes, and she decides that she doesn’t want to hear anymore. Unfortunately, Richter isn’t done. 

 

The triplets were born to the first wife. Richter’s face contorts with anger for a moment, but it seems that he always says their mother’s name tenderly. It sent chills down her spine. It only gets worse when Richter explains that the triplets were all bad children. Ayato was expected to compete with Shuu, since Cordelia felt it was her right to raise the heir to the family. Unfortunately, he never studied when his mother wanted him to. After all the effort she put forth, he always defied her. So, she had to think of creative punishments. Her punishments went from locking him away from others or slapping him to finally throwing him in the lake to drown. Ayato’s ungratefulness in his mother’s faith goes so far as to finally trying and succeeding to have a hand in murder her. Horror continues to mount in Mai’s chest, and she finds herself unable to breath.

 

Kanato seemed to be the next one on Richter’s list. Richter doesn’t seem overly interested in the purple haired vampire. Instead, he simply glosses over by telling Mai that his mother had taken the time to teach him a few songs. He appeared to be the best one out of the three. He at least sung to his mother whenever she asked him, too. Still, he burned her body when he found it.

 

Mai’s hands clutch the blanket beneath her in a white knuckled grip. She’s shaking so bad that she mistakes the tears in her eyes for simply shaking. Her reaction seems to amuse Richter, since he chuckles in the back of his throat. He slowly starts around the edge of the bed until he is standing beside her. He leans down until his face is only inches from the side of her head. She wants to pull away, but her body doesn’t respond. His voice takes on a mocking edge when he proceeds to tell her that Laito was the worst of all. He tells ther that Laito never saw his mother as a mother. He saw her as a woman. Despite sharing blood, he pushed himself onto her. Disgust wells in the pit of Mai’s stomach, and she closes her eyes as if it will block out the words, or even make them untrue. She presses her hands to her ears in an attempt to cover up what she was hearing. Unfortunately, Richter doesn’t allow her to. His hands grip her wrists tightly, and he pulls her hands away from her head. He proceeds to tell her that Laito was punished for pursuing such a disgusting relationship with his own flesh and blood; however, this never stopped him. His mother still loved and trusted him enough to run to him when Ayato attempted to kill her, but he rewarded her by proceeding to finish her off. Richter’s voice becomes laced in anger when he slowly tells Mai that Laito had thrown his own mother off of a balcony.

 

Mai’s body feels like it’s breaking out in a cold sweat. She felt utterly disgusted not only with Laito but with herself. She had allowed him to touch her like that. She flinches away from Richter’s touch. Thankfully, he lets her pull away. She scoots her body as far away from him as possible. He coldly chuckles, letting her know that he was enjoying her fear and disgust. She silently prays he’s done, but he still had one more brother to discuss. She closes her eyes tightly when she hears him talking once more. Subaru’s mother is still alive, but she is mentally unstable, though Richter openly admits that it’s entertaining to watch her switch personalities. She seems to greatly care for Subaru one moment before trying to kill him the next. It seems that she truly hated her own son. Mai feels so sick to her stomach that she doesn’t even react when something cold brushes her cheek. By the time it registers that Richter may have touched her, he’s already gone. She lets her body fall back and twists to pull the blankets over her head. She kept going over everything that Richter had told her. She keeps telling herself to not blindly believe him, but something deep down in the pit of her stomach kept reminding her that the brothers weren’t normal.

 

With a flinch, she realizes that she isn’t normal either. She had spent so much time with them that the girl in the bathroom was right. She has been polluted. She isn’t normal, and she didn’t think that she would ever feel normal again. Tears slowly make their way down her face, and she finds herself silently crying. She’s not sure if she is crying for herself, Yui, or the brothers, but she decides to just let herself cry until there are no more tears. There was no one there to impress anymore.

 

____________________________________________________________________

 

She didn’t sleep at all for the rest of the night. In fact, she stares numbly at the wall any time she is asked questions by the doctors or nurses who come to check on her. Eventually, they end up not asking her questions. She receives a few texts from Yui throughout the day, but it’s clear that she’s sleepily texting since most don’t make sense.

 

It’s slowly creeping up on night again, and her mother has been visiting for the last hour. She informs Mai that she would be able to go home the next morning if she wants, but it’s perfectly OK to stay at the hospital. Mai simply shakes her head before informing her mom that she wanted to go home since she couldn’t rest well in the hospital. Her mother gives her a kiss on the forehead and asks if she wants her or her father to stay the night with her. Thankfully, Mai has a long time to consider everything that had been told to her, so she’s able to smile convincingly enough to fool her mother. She tells her mother that she’s a big girl and could sleep by herself. Still, her mother seems unsure about leaving, but she finally does. All over again, time ticks. Yui drops by, but Mai finds it hard to tell Yui about what Richter told her. She isn’t sure why, but she tells herself that it’s because it’ll cause undue stress to Yui and there’s always the risk that Richter was lying. Thankfully, Yui leaves which gives Mai time to think everything over. Could she really believe everything Richter said? She didn’t even know him. Perhaps she’s stressing about the wrong thing?

 

She jumps when there’s a soft knock on the door. She sits up, fully expecting it to be a nurse there to check on her. To her surprise, it’s someone that she doesn’t immediately recognize. The blonde boy steps in with a charming smile and winks at her. Her heart skips a beat, and she leaps to her feet with the bed between them. He lifts his hands and lets out a nervous chuckle when Mai prepares to scream. His voice is oddly cheerful. “Easy! I’m just here to return your book bag and homework from class yesterday!”

 

He gives her a charming smile and lifts her bookbag into view. Still, she can’t find it in herself to relax. She remains ready to call out for help. That’s when she notices that the door’s still open, so they were in full view of anyone who walked by. Her eyes snap back to find he has a very convincing look of worry on his face. He slowly places the bag by the door and makes no attempt to approach her. Suspicion fills her chest. Now that she has a better look at him, she has a feeling that he’s familiar outside of school, but she can’t quite place where she has seen him.

 

He lifts a hand to rub the back of his head in what appears to be a nervous gesture. “I was hoping that you weren’t left alone. I’d like to see your adorable friend again, and there are some interesting rumors going around school that you tried to kill yourself.”

 

Mai’s eyes narrow at him, but she doesn’t say a word. It never bothered her what the students said before, and she isn’t about to let it start bothering her now. Kou leans against the wall and folds his arms, though she’s thankful he doesn’t even attempt to venture further into the room. Still, she has a feeling that his helpful, cheerful, and caring demeanor is nothing but a disguise. He’s a vampire, and all the vampires she’s come in contact with have been cruel, merciless beings.

 

Still, he doesn’t seem to be fazed by her silence. He just continues to give her that disarming smile. Mai’s eyes narrow a little more, but she forces herself to say. “Thank you for bringing that to me.”

 

His charming smile grows, and his voice takes on a hopeful sound when he says, “Does this mean that we can be friends?”

 

She simply continues to glare coldly at him. He lets out a sigh, but he doesn’t actually sound upset. Finally, he says. “Aren’t you curious as to how I found you?”

 

“You’re a vampire,” Mai bluntly states. “You probably followed my scent.” 

 

Kou gives her yet another grin. Thankfully, he doesn’t say anything. He simply tilts his head in an almost cute way.

 

“Can I sit down?”

 

Mai flinches when she realizes that her manners had lapsed. Still, she doesn’t want to let him sit anywhere in the room. Against her will, she snarls out. “By all means.”

 

He lets out a chuckle and scoops up her bag. He drops it at the foot of her bed and sits in a chair furthest from her bed. Dread fills her stomach, and she keeps a sharp eye on him. It feels like he’s trying to get her to let her guard down. While she watches, he leans back and turns his attention toward the tv that’s currently turned off. Finally, Mai can’t stand the silence and bluntly asks, “What do you want?”

 

He turns his attention toward her and offers that infuriating smile. He shifts so the heel of one of his feet is on the edge of the seat. He loosely wraps his arm around his leg and shifts till he is comfortable then playfully says, “I thought you’d be bored sitting here all by yourself. Your blonde friend has been worried about you. I heard her talking to that red head of hers about you yesterday. She’s worried that you’d be sad if you were alone, so I thought I’d do her a favor and keep you company! Aren’t you so lucky!”

 

Mai’s body tenses, and her eyes narrow. There’s something off about him, but she has to admit that his carefree attitude is refreshing. In fact, he’s even respecting her boundaries. How long has it been since a vampire has done that? She clears her throat and says, “I didn’t ask you come see me.”

 

He gains a thoughtful look. In fact, he lightly taps his chin for a moment. His blue eyes roll toward the ceiling before they slowly drift down to settle on her. He chuckles and winks at her once again. He playfully sticks his tongue out at her then says. “You don’t have to ask! We’re classmates. Besides, your adorable little friend is worried about you, and I can’t just let a cutie sit in a depressing room like this one all by herself, can I?”

 

Mai finds herself instantly disliking him. She didn’t know why, though. He seems to sense her dislike, and a frown flashes over his face before he lets out a happy chuckle. The smile returns, and he tilts his head. “Didn’t they hurt you? Don’t they hurt that adorable little friend of yours? Why be so suspicious of me when they are the ones to blame for you being here?”

 

Mai’s entire body stiffens, and she glances toward the open door. She silently hopes the nurse will show up soon. She jumps when she hears him say, “Don’t you want to protect your friend?”

 

She turns her gaze back at him with a frown. He leans forward a little and says softly. “You know, if you believe in my brothers and I, we can help you two out. You want to escape them, but they seem impossible to escape from, right? We have a secret hideout. They wouldn’t be able to find you.”

 

Mai can’t help but wrinkle her nose at him. Without thinking over her words, she bluntly asks. “How old are you?”

 

He gives her a curious look, but she doesn’t give him a chance to respond. She simply says, “Are you a child? A secret hideout? You have got to be kidding me.”

 

The cheerfulness seems to drain from his face. A cold look replaces it only seconds later. Mai clenches the blanket, but she finds that she doesn’t feel any fear. She simply returns his cold look. Kou suddenly stands up and seems to dust himself off. His voice no longer holds a hint of his previous cheer. It’s simply cold when he says, “Ungrateful bitch. I tried to do something nice for you, but this is how you treat me. You’re nothing more than a good for nothing pet for those pathetic vampires.”

 

His cold words startle her, but she tries to keep it off of her face. He starts toward the door without another word. Mai simply watches him go with a furious look. He pauses to look back and gives her a cold smile that is just as charming as his cheerful one. “You must like the abuse they give you. Pathetic.”

 

He’s gone before Mai gets a chance to saying anything in return. Still, she finds herself seething. She jumps when her phone rings and turns her attention to it. To her relief, it’s only Yui who is texting her. It simply reads.

 

Mai, Ayato just told me that Laito has been punished for what he did to you. I think that’s why we haven’t seen him.

 

Humiliation and dread fills her stomach. How had Tougo known what Laito had done? To make matters even worse, she hadn’t given Laito’s disappearance much thought, but she now realizes that she hasn’t actually seen him. The humiliation is taken over by dread, and she texts back a single question.

 

Is he upset?

 

The response is immediate, but it’s also unsatisfactory.

 

I don’t know.

 

Mai flinches. What if Laito blames her? What will he do as punishment? The thought makes her feel sick to her stomach all over again. She lets herself fall back and pulls the blanket over her head. She forces herself to push the worries from her mind and focuses on what she would do when she met up with Reiji. Any time her thoughts wander, she forces herself to return to the upcoming meeting with Reiji. That seems to be the trick to help herself finally doze off.f


	21. Bonus Chapter: Laito

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you guys enjoy this bonus chapter. It's a paraphrase of the most of the story up until recent events. (: Only, it's told from Laito's POV. I figured it'd be interesting to you all to see just how different things appear to him.

He truly hadn’t thought anything of her upon first meeting her. He had been after the newest bride because she had escaped Ayato’s protective clutches. Upon locating the bride, he is frustrated to find the bride has someone else with her, but it doesn’t matter. He gets what he wants, and it’s always so much more fun when someone else is watching. Besides, The bride smells familiar and addicting, and he isn’t about to let his selfish brother get her this time. The only thing that piques his interest about the human girl is the fact that she doesn’t bow down to him like so many of the other female students do. After all, the Sakamaki’s are like royalty to the school. Still, this brown haired girl stares defiantly up at him and threatens to turn him in for sexual harassment. In fact, she not only threatens, but she follows through with reporting him. Even though he’s expelled, it doesn’t make any difference. It never does. This will just fall under the countless other times he was expelled for stupid things.

 

He decides to keep an eye on her. He finds that she isn’t exactly as fearless as she thought she was. Over the next days, weeks, months, he could smell her fear coursing through her blood. He fully expects her to break after all the cruel pranks Ayato, Kanato, and himself play on her, but she seems to silently accept it as part of life. Which he finds amusing. She’s stubbornly determined to help the newest bride out, which only serves to baffle and irritate him. Why would someone go so far for someone they just met?

 

That is where he found his frustration growing. If Ayato isn’t around the bride, the brown haired girl is. Laito expects Ayato to isolate the bride, but he doesn’t seem interested in doing so. In fact, he seems to tolerate the girls’ strange friendship. It makes Laito wonder if it has to do with the bride herself. Laito keeps closer to them when they are alone and finds the girl called Mai trying to convince the bride to run away. Luckily, the bride’s foolishly already wrapped around Ayato. Still, this is another source of frustration for him. How dare a human think they can take away a vampire’s prey? Did the girl not realize just how powerless she is? Perhaps it’s time to scare off the little human. His attempts at scaring her fail just as much as the pranks did, but it doesn’t stop him from trying. After all, he wants to scare her off, and he always gets what he wants.

 

The moment the bride’s scent changes, he lost interest in her. He didn’t mind sloppy seconds, but he found a more interesting playtoy. Besides, he suspected his interest in her has been slipping for quite a while. The defiant look on Mai’s face interests him more. He can’t help but wonder what her broken look would look like. A shudder runs down his spine as he imagines the tears running down her face along with the completely obedient look in her eyes. A cruel smile breaks out over his face.

 

Unfortunately, he’s not the only one that gains an interest in her, but he doesn’t feel threatened by his brother. After all, Kanato’s interests are always fleeting and created from boredom. Or, perhaps it is simply due to the bride’s scent on Mai. Still, Laito decides to do something in order to prove to both Kanato and Mai that she is his plaything until he’s done with her. After he’s had his fill, he’ll let Kanato do as he pleases. This is the leading thought behind tasting her blood for the first time. He has had his familiars following her for a while, so he knew where she lived. He can’t help but feel a sense of giddiness that he always felt before the very first bite. He’s already waiting outside Mai’s house when the bride arrives. Now, he just needed to wait for the right time to spring.

 

However, this is not how he expected it to go. It started out going so well. The bride had gone over for her daily visit, so Laito just slides up behind her when Mai opens the door. A pleasant thrill runs through his entire body at the sight of clear fear on her face. She reacts just as he expects her to. She attempts to shut him out, but it’s easy for him to get inside her house. The scent of her blood hangs heavy in the air. It smells surprisingly sweet, but it has an undertone that he can’t quite figure out. The simple thought made his mouth water. It is all made even better by the fact that she is wearing a look of pure terror. The moment she swings the silly bat at him, his anger ignites. She should just submit to him and allow him to drink her blood. It’s only made worse by the fact that she manages to kick him. Still, he can’t help but feel even more interested in breaking her.

 

Despite her protests, he does bite her. He keeps it painful for her as punishment for daring to strike him. After all, he gets what he wants and right then he wants her. The taste of her blood rushing into his mouth is almost bittersweet, though he thinks it has something to do with her emotions. Still, he drinks a few more mouthfuls before releasing her. To his utter disappointment, it takes her a few minutes to recover. During that time, he takes a moment to take in her scent. She smelled faintly of lavender and honey. Like all things in their lives, his moment with her comes to an end.

 

The days drift by once more, and he finds himself watching her more and more. To his utter enjoyment, he finds that he can play with Mai, and it bothers Yui, as well. This came as a pleasant surprise, since he now has the attention of two women without really trying. The days seem to drift by, and he finds himself enjoying tormenting the brown haired girl. It’s even more enjoyable when she tries to fight against him, though it frustrates him when she denies his help when she was playing billiards against Subaru. He finds a small tendril of annoyance in the pit of his stomach to see his plaything having fun with someone else. Was she like his mother? Would she only enjoy herself by playing with a third person?

 

Was he not enough?

 

If that’s what it takes to make her happy, then he could oblige. This prompts him to drop her in various situations in which she would end up in the path of one of his brothers. Unfortunately, she manages to escape all of them with the least amount of damage. The only time she actually feels the pleasant sting of pain is when he gives it to her. Still, he thought that all shallow women needed more than one man’s attention in order to feel happy.

 

Time seems to tick by, and he notices something exciting. She’s starting to look at him more and more often with clear attraction on her face. He’s positive that he has become the center of her life. This thrills him beyond belief. It feels like he had worked harder than ever before to wiggle his way into her heart. Everything seems to come crumbling down when Reiji decides to punish her. While Laito is all for her being punished, it still bothers him that she is starting to smell more and more like Shuu. There is always the lingering scent of Ayato on her, but it is due to her proximity to the bride.

 

The day that he gets invited to her house surprises him, though it’s a that she was trying to avoid one of Kanato’s tantrums. His brush with Richter at her house doesn’t help his mood, but it comes as a relief to realize that the older vampire has no interest in Mai. Despite his brothers going, he finds himself having fun. The dessert is surprisingly good, and he is able to steal glances at the two girls during the movies. Yui is terrified and keeps hiding behind Ayato, but Mai seems genuinely interested in the gore going on. Yui’s the first to fall asleep, though Ayato’s not long after her. Mai moves to the floor to avoid having Yui and Ayato’s feet in her lap, but she is in and out of sleep only moments after Ayato. Laito watches from his position in a chair. His frown is evident on his face. Kanato moves down to sit beside Mai and uses her shoulder as a pillow. The original excitement has worn off since Kanato didn’t seem to do anything to her, and a small, barely noticeable, tendril of annoyance begins coiling through the pit of his stomach. He watches Mai lean her head head over into Kanato’s once she slips into a deeper sleep. Kanato isn’t far behind her. Laito is the last one awake, though he doesn’t mind. His eyes shift to the blonde stretched out on the couch. Laito knew that there are likely marks all over her body. It’s clear that his brother’s clutches are already sunk deep inside the stupid blonde girl.

 

She reeks of Ayato, after all.

 

His green eyes shift to Mai. Over the last few months, her scent has slowly, but noticeably, been shifting. It isn’t as sweet as Yui’s, but she no longer smells like a normal human. Something has changed in her, and he knows what it is. She has attempted asking him, but he doesn’t plan to tell her. Where was the fun in that? Laito shifts his body once it starts to react to the mouthwatering scent. He has been playing nice to try to get her to drop her guard, and it seems to be working. She isn’t nearly as cautious around him. She even agreed to let him drink from her without fighting, though he’s a little disappointed that she agreed to that so easily.

 

He slowly slinks out of the chair and moves closer to her body. He leans in close to inhale her scent. It sends another pleasurable jolt between his legs, and he releases a soft groan. Her scent is mixed with Kanato’s making it smell even better. He leans in to lightly nip her neck, and she releases a soft groan that makes his body react even more. His face flushes, and he pulls back to look at her. She shifts her sleep, seeming to turn more towards Kanato’s body. A frown overtakes his face, and he reacts without thinking. He reaches over to shove Kanato. It doesn’t come as a surprise that the purple haired vampire lets out a whine, but he extracts himself from Mai and rolls to the floor. While Laito watches, his triplet curls around the stupid teddy bear their mother had given him.

 

Laito’s eyes turn to meet Mai’s partially opened ones. A thrill runs through his body before he realizes that she’s still asleep. She shifts into a comfortable position before drifting back off to sleep. He considers reaching out to heat her body up, but he decides that he doesn’t want to deal with Ayato’s whining. With a soft growl of frustration, Laito settles his head into her lap. He closes his eyes and lets himself drift off to sleep.

 

His dreams consist of her finally submitting to him. Unfortunately, he’s woken right in the middle of a particularly good dream when Mai’s breathing changes, but he doesn’t open his eyes. He just listens as she wiggles out from under him and disappears further into the house. His manhood is stiff due to his dreams, and he considers following after her, but the sound of Kanato muttering in his sleep distracts Laito for a moment. It sounded like Kanato’s singing under his breath. He listens to the sound of Yui’s heart beat, and Mai’s returning footsteps. Still, impatience fills his body. He decides that he would completely claim her tonight. After all, he’s already feeling the effects of the moon.

 

Much to his frustration, he is chased off by the two girls, though he doesn’t return home like his brothers do. He finds himself following them at a distance. He frowns upon finding them going to a church. Even though it doesn’t hurt him to enter the grounds, he still finds it stupid to worship a deity that he doesn’t believe existed. To make matters worse, the girls begin to clean the church. He finds himself watching Yui more than Mai though. Yui’s scent kept giving off a horribly familiar scent that he didn’t think he would ever smell again. Memories start to surface, and he finds himself longing to feel her embrace again. That’s when his eyes focus on Mai. The girls were on their way out, and Yui looks like she is in pain. A smirk spreads over his face, and he follows after the girls once more. The familiar scent wafers back to tickle his nose, making him more and more impatient. To his surprise, his thoughts isn’t on his first lover, but the girl not far in front of him. His throat is burning, and he is starting to feel restless. His green eyes lift to look at the moon before dropping back down in time to find Ayato has appeared to steal Yui away. Laito knew exactly what he plans to do.

 

After all, Laito is planning to do the same thing. He was tired of playing nice with his toy. It’s time to show her just who her master is. He moves forward when Kanato appears. It wouldn’t do to have Kanato steal her out from under him. He doesn’t hesitate to rip her away. Despite dropping her in the room that would be hers, he could hear Kanato’s tantrum at having his prey taken away. He frowns at the thought of Kanato chasing them, and he immediately sets about claiming every part of her.

 

Thrills race up and down his spine and make it hard for him to control himself when she fights against him. As a reward, he decides to give her a bit of foreplay. Women like romantic views of lakes under the moon, didn’t they? He decides to show her such a view by dropping her in the middle of the woods. He isn’t about to just lead her there. This would serve as her foreplay. Nothing is better than a rush of adrenaline. He carefully leads her toward the lake by making noise in the wrong directions. To his absolute delight, she is covered in cuts when she finally arrives at the intended destination, causing the scent of her blood and sweat to hang heavily in the air. Still, he can smell faint traces of Kanato on her body. This causes that tendril of annoyance to start in the pit of his stomach again. He doesn’t want to lose the first time with her to another. It doesn’t matter what happens to her afterwards, but he always enjoys the first time. It’s what helps break them the most. Humans were so attached to their virginity. He always viewed that attachment as foolish and unhealthy. He’s only helping them break through their silly notions of love by showing them the pleasure of lust. He decides to drop her in the lake, but it seems to chill her body and anger her further. He decides that she has had enough foreplay and takes her back home. It was time to claim her.

 

He makes sure to heal her cuts as a show that he cares enough to pay attention to her. Afterwards, he ensures that she enjoys herself. After all, he’s not that selfish. He makes sure to use contraception, though he doesn’t think that she cares. The scent of her tears don’t really bother him. Many of the other girls he’s been with has cried. It just seems that she is simply enjoying herself that much. Once he is done, he leaves to dispose of the condom before returning. He frowns when he finds her already falling asleep, so he releases her and crawls into bed beside her. After all, women like to be cuddled afterwards. She doesn’t bother fighting against him, so he feels as if she truly enjoyed herself.

 

The days once again go by, and he notices a change in her. She tries to avoid him, but he doesn’t mind. This has happened before, as well. He still crawls in bed with her, even at her own home. She never once complains about it. He did notice that she would always stiffen when he touches her, but he doesn’t pay much mind to it. It isn’t unusual for the women to behave that way after their first time. For some reason, humans taught their children that lust is a bad thing, so she’s just embarrassed by what happened.

 

He’s surprisingly happy that she didn’t submit to him yet. After all, that would just kill the game.

 

Still, it bothers him that she would no longer look him in the eyes. Her words are clipped and to the point. In fact, she seems in a rush every morning to get to Shuu’s room, and she tries to avoid sitting by him in the car. In fact, it seems as if she has grown closer to Shuu over the course of a few weeks. At first, he decides to bring up that she can bring Shuu to bed with them if she could get his older brother motivated, but he stops himself when he finds that the thought was causing that small tendril of annoyance to grow. He has never felt threatened by the lazy vampire before, but it’s becoming clear to him that something is going on between them. It’s like Cordelia and Richter all over again. These thoughts spur a nightmare of his childhood. When he wakes, he finds himself alone in her bed.

 

To make it even worse, his familiar told him that while he was gone she used Shuu’s shoulder to sleep on. This frustrated him more than he thought it would. He justifies it by reminding himself that she is his toy, and someone touched her without permission. To make matters worse, she is avoiding him. She clearly isn’t grateful to the fact that he went out of his way to give her enjoyment while they slept together. Perhaps it was time to punish her? Next time, she will ask him for permission before reaching out to another man. He would easily give it to her, but she needed to learn her place.

 

He’s surprised by her call. To his absolute delight, she sounds scared. A thrill rushes through his veins. He already knew where she is due to having his familiars follow her. He simply appears before her and makes her move toward a park, since she’s stubbornly clinging to her human ideals of having private conversations about her love life. Once at the park, he gives her a kiss, but she doesn’t even bother to react. Anger fills his stomach, so he decides to bite her in an effort to get a reaction from her. Once she jerks away from him, he decides it’s time that she admits that she is his. He watches her run, and a thrill runs through his body. He always enjoyed the hunt. Unfortunately, it’s over sooner than he would have liked. He attempts to gently convince her to admit that she loves him, but she stubbornly denies to. He decides to force her to say that she loves him by threatening to bite a tender area.

 

Hearing her admit that she loves him is like music to his ears. He decides to test her resolve by taking her to Kanato’s room. Fortunately, she still has some fire left in her and refuses once more to meet his demands of destroying Kanato’s belongings. Despite her avoiding his kiss, the sound of her laughter sends a pleasant chill through his body, but it also causes him to feel a sense of frustration. In an attempt to silence her laughter, he reaches out to grab her throat. The look of fear on her face sends a pleasant thrill down his spine, so he decides to reward her. He shoves her back then leaves to see where she would run to for comfort. To his displeasure, Yui appears, and they retreat to his good for nothing older brother’s room.

 

Unfortunately, he gets a call to appear before his father, so her punishment will have to wait. He doesn’t have any problem with that though. After all, it’ll give him time to decide on a fitting punishment.


	22. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, it's been a while! (: The holidays got pretty busy for me! I hope everyone's went well! :D This chapter does contain some of the usual violence and mention of drugs. Thank you for reading and enjoy!

Thankfully, the rest of the night eases by. She confirms with her parents and doctors that she can finally go home. The car ride home is so incredibly awkward that she can only numbly stare out the window while her parents talk nonstop. To make matters even worse, they try to cheer her up by stopping to grab her some fast food. Their hopeful looks cause her to feel guilty about not feeling hungry, so she ends up forcing down the food. All the while, she has to pretend not to see the worried expressions they are sending each other over their own food. The painful experience is dragged on as they leave the fast food restaurant. Her mother offers to stop by the store to get her favorite candy. Her father chimes in with an offer to get her some movies. The whole thing turns into an offer to get movie snacks and have a family movie night. While the gesture was touching, she found she wasn’t in the mood, so she simply forces a smile onto her face and declines. Upon seeing their questioning, and worried, stares, she gives them the lame excuse that she’s tired and just wants to sleep in her own bed. Upon seeing the disappointment clearly written on their faces, she promises to think about doing it tomorrow night.

Thankfully, they give in and take her home. She doesn’t say a word for the rest of the trip. Once home, she simply gets out of the car and makes her way inside. Without bothering to take off her shoes, she walks through the house to her room. With a shuddering sigh, she crawls up on her bed and flops onto her side. For one brief moment, she considers how gross it was to have her shoes on her bed, but the thought floats away just as quickly as it came. Her thoughts slowly become blank, which allows her tense muscles to finally relax. Her body slowly curls into a ball, and she finds herself listening to the sound of her parents’ voices. Despite the door being cracked open, she can’t quite make out what her parents are saying. She finds that she doesn’t particularly care though. Just the sound of their voices is enough comfort for her. She allows her heavy eyes to slowly close and pulls a pillow close to her chest. She squeezes it tightly and tries to force herself to sleep.

Unfortunately, her body doesn’t want to cooperate with her. Her thoughts had started up again, and they keep back around to what Richter had told her. Was it true that she’s no longer fully human? The simple thought is almost laughable. He probably isn’t telling her the truth. He is related to Laito, after all. Besides if she isn’t human, then what is she? That circled her thoughts into a different direction. Since she didn’t plan on believing that she wasn’t human anymore, what could she believe? Is anything he said even true? Or is it nothing more than a lie? The thought of Laito being with his mother made her sick to her stomach. She gives a hard shake of her head. Her eyes squeeze tightly closed. Would it be better to just ask him? Would he tell her the truth? Her heart gives a painful throb. Who can she even trust anymore?

She releases a slow sigh, sits up, and opens her eyes. That’s when she realizes that the sound of her parents was gone. In fact, the whole house seemed eerily silent, causing her to wonder where her parents had disappeared to. After everything that happened, she didn’t see her parents leaving her side any time soon. A shudder runs down her spine when memories of the recent events run through her mind. In an effort to distract herself, she glances around her room before her eyes land on the new cheap alarm clock beside her bed. The big, red letters read twelve p.m. Her heart sinks to the very bottom of her stomach. It feels like hours have gone by, but it turns out that she has only been released for roughly four hours. With a flinch, she remembers she that she is supposed to call Reiji when she returned home. Despite realizing this, she finds herself absentmindedly watching the minutes tick by. It’s not until her pocket starts to vibrate that she’s able to tear her gaze away. She doesn’t bother checking the caller ID to see who’s calling her. There were only a handful of people it could be, and she’s already at her house, so it wouldn’t be her parents.

“You were supposed to call when you arrived home,” a cold voice states the second she lifts the phone to her ear. She can’t help but roll her eyes. He doesn’t give her a chance to respond, though. Reiji simply states. “Outside of your home, a car is waiting for you. You are to come straight to my room. Do not stop at any point.”

She’s not sure why, but she quickly asks, “Reiji?”

Silence is her only greeting, which causes her to silently wonder if he already hung up. On the off chance he hasn’t, she hesitantly asks, “Can… Richter be trusted?”

Once again, silence is the only response she receives. She’s too afraid to pull the phone away and look at it to see if he hung up. He might say something while the phone is away from her ear, and she doesn’t want to miss a single word. She could even take it a step further by saying that she had to know. Her hand begins to grip the phone until her knuckles turn completely white. Hope is becoming nothing more than a shrivelled up feeling in the bottom of her heart. Just as she loses the little bit she has left, he finally starts talking again. “Come to my room. You will explain the reasoning behind your question in full detail.”

There is a beep in her ear, letting her know that he did indeed hang up this time. She pulls the phone away and glares at it as if it were to blame for all of her problems. She inhales deeply through her nose, silently reminding herself that an inanimate object can’t do anything to her, and releases her breath as a sigh. She considers not even going to their house, but the thought of getting answers is tempting. Besides, she doesn’t relish the thought of having to deal with an upset Reiji the next time she sees him. It takes some mental convincing, but she finds herself silently slipping out of the house and into the back of the car Reiji mentioned. She glances out the window at her house while the car backs out. A sense of guilt rises into her throat, and she has to forcibly tear her gaze away. Was she doing the right thing? She gives a small shake of her head. It felt like she’s walking right into a trap. The kind of trap that cause millions of horror movie fans to yell at the hero not to fall into. She settles for leaning back in the seat and closing her eyes while trying to ignore the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. When had she stopped trusting her own gut instinct?

She jerks awake when something cold touches her face. She fully expects it to be Laito, but it turns out that it’s a red eyed, young man who is dressed in a suit. His leather clad hand moves away from her face out of the corner of her eye. She barely represses the shudder at the thought of an unfamiliar person touching her so easily. The young man doesn’t say a word to her. He just steps beside the open door and bows slightly. Feeling unnerved that she had so easily fallen asleep around one of the Sakamaki familiars, Mai quickly slips out and rushes up the steps to the house. She doesn’t even think twice about slipping in the already open door. She glances back to watch it shut without anyone in sight. With a shudder, she turns and looks around the entry hall. Taking a deep breath to steady her fraying nerves, she makes her way up the stairs. Out of the corner of her eye, she spots see Shuu sleeping on a couch through a doorway that leads to the living room. Not far away from him, Subaru is sitting in a chair. Unfortunately, his back is to Mai, so she can’t see what he is doing. She decides to finish her task as fast as possible, so she quickens her footsteps. It’s not long before she arrives at a cracked door. With a deep breath, she knocks, causing the door to open a little more.

Without a response from within, Mai decides to just poke her head in. To her utter frustration, Reiji is sitting at a desk, casually flipping through a book. He doesn’t say a single word to acknowledge her presence, so she slides her body through the door. She’s careful to leave the door open behind her. She wants to have an escape route open to her should something seem fishy. She only takes a few steps in and keeps her eyes fixed on the dark haired vampire. As the minutes tick by, it becomes harder and harder to not fidget. Finally, red eyes lift to meet hers. She feels her entire body stiffen, but she keeps her gaze locked with his. After a short staring contest, he leans back in his chair. He gives her a thoughtful once over before he stands and walks around the desk. His voice is barely audible. “Are you thirsty?”

It feels like every nerve in her body comes alive. Suspicion fills her entire being, and she starts to shake her head. The action stops when he gives her a cold frown. He turns his attention to pouring himself what appeared to be tea. His voice comes out cold as usual. “That is very rude of you to refuse your host.”

Mai’s eyes narrow, but she choses not to respond. It almost feels like he’s trying to bait her, but she couldn’t figure out what he was hoping to accomplish. She watches him sit in a comfortable looking arm chair, close his eyes, and take a couple of drinks. The seconds tick by in an agonizingly slow manner before Mai cautiously starts her way toward the chair opposite him. Just as she reaches it, his eyes snap up to meet hers. “What do you think you are doing?”

Baffled, Mai opens and closes her mouth a few times. He gives her a cold, almost disgusted look. Thankfully, she manages to say. “I…. I was going to…..sit…..down?”

She flinches at the fact that she sounds completely unsure by the end. It’s made even worse by the fact that he is now staring at her with an unreadable look. Finally, he releases a sigh that has her gritting her teeth. The teacup in his hand makes a gentle clinking sound when he sets it down. His hand lifts to push his glasses up and coldly says. “I don’t remember inviting you to sit down. All I offered you was a cup of tea, which you rude declined.”

She decides to ignore the last comment. She just wanted this over with as quickly as possible. She decides to inform him that it’s common courtesy to offer guests a seat, but she thinks better of that as well and closes her mouth. To her complete frustration. he seems to be regarding her internal struggle with a cold expression. Once it becomes apparent that nothing is going to happen, he gracefully stands up. In response to his movement, Mai takes a step, but her body becomes rigid when he gives her a warning look. Her heart starts to race while he stalks closer to her. Without any sort of warning, his hands cup her jaw. She attempts to flinch away, but pain races through her face and neck when he presses on pressure points. She involuntarily closes her eyes and sucks in a breath before holding it. Her entire body continue to tense. After a few seconds, the air rushes out of her lungs. She jumps when Reiji’s cold voice breaks the silence following her released breath. “Relax, stupid woman.”

She tries to force her body to relax, but it stubbornly refuses to do so. She slowly opens only one eye to look up at him. To her surprise, he looks like he’s really concentrating. His gloved fingers suddenly feel light on her skin. In fact, she can only barely feel them. The only part she feels is when his finger tips prod various pressure points around her face and neck. Surprisingly, it doesn’t hurt, but it didn’t feel pleasant either. After a few moments of soft prodding, his hands leave her face, and he takes a step back. She wants to feel relieved; however, the look on his face effectively kills any sense of relief. He’s staring at her like she’s some sort of vaguely interesting experiment. In fact, it’s almost like he’s deciding whether or not she is worth his time. She instantly begins to regret following his orders to visit him. She swallows hard and takes a step back. Unfortunately, the movement causes his eyes snap to hers, and she finds herself frozen in place. He suddenly turns away and approaches a table that has multiple beakers and other science equipment. Her muscles become painfully tense when the sound of liquid being poured reaches her ears. She reluctantly pulls her gaze away from him to glance toward the door, silently wondering if she could make it. She jumps when his voice cuts through the silence.

“You won’t make it.”

She turns her gaze to observe him once more. It doesn’t come as a surprise to find his back toward her, but it’s still eerie that he seems to know what she’s thinking. He suddenly spins back to her and steps close once more, but his face isn’t what interests her. In his hand, he holds a beaker with a strange greenish, almost see through, liquid. Dread fills her stomach, and she attempts to retreat a couple of steps, but his hand reaches up to grab her upper arm. She lifts to slam her hands over her mouth while she glares up at him. He gives her a look of disgust before he tugs hard. She doesn’t even bother to try to stop herself from stumbling forward. Instead, she ducks her head and allows it to drive into his chest. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to bother him. His grip tightens on her upper arm, but his voice is still cold. “Drink this.”

Her voice is muffled by her hands and his chest, but she’s sure he can still hear her. “Fuck you!”

He releases a sigh and suddenly releases her arm. She quickly retreats toward the door. Once she reaches it, she lets her curiosity get the best of her, and she glances back to find that he has carefully set the beaker in a holder along the table. She gives him a cold glare, but he simply returns to his seat. She turns to leave, but she stops when he says. “Do not trust everything Richter tells you.”

She tries to will herself to leave, but she finds herself frozen in place. Finally, she carefully turns to look at him, though she’s careful to remain by the door with a hand pressed over her mouth. She keeps glancing at the strange green liquid, while he simply returns to drinking his tea. After a few minutes of silently arguing with herself, she cautiously says. “He said I wasn’t completely human.”

Reiji doesn’t make a sound or even react, which causes her frustration to mount even further. After a few minutes of more silent arguing, she finally decides to not let this chance slip between her fingers and chooses a different topic. “Is…. did Laito…. Sleep with his…… mother?”

Reiji’s red eyes finally lift to meet hers with a frighteningly, cold look. She finds herself leaning back against the wall beside the door. Her legs were shaking so badly that she is sure she won’t be able to stand without the support of the wall. He closes his eyes once more and takes another sip of tea. As the unneeded silence continues to drag, she finds herself clenching her fists before saying louder than she means to. “Reiji, answer me!”

His red eyes open once more to give her yet another cold look, but she finds her desperation to know truth from lies is overtaking her fear of him. After all, he told her not to trust everything Ritcher said, right? So the part about Reiji hiring someone to kill his own mother might be fake. The thought sent a whole new sense of fear through her body. What if Ritcher’s the one telling the truth? Could she even trust Reiji? She clenches her fists tightly and silently reminds herself that Reiji has always seemed honest with her, and she knew him a little better than Ritcher anyway. The more she thought about it the more Ritcher’s words seemed like the ramblings of a madman. What child in their right mind would pursue a sexual relationship with their own mother? Even one who was as perverted as Laito. Her attention is brought back to the present when Reiji once again sets the tea cup aside and releases a slow breath. His voice is barely audible when he mutters. “I see. That is what he spoke to you about. Was there anything else?”

He settles back and neatly crosses his legs. His hands lift to interlock his fingers in front of his chin. He gives her a strange, calculating look, and Mai finds herself pressing even harder against the wall. Finally, he coldly states, “The triplets relationship with their mother is best described as complicated. It is hardly something that you should be asking about, regardless to whether or not you have slept with Laito.”

She felt like she was punched in the gut. Of course this had to do with her! She had slept with him, willing or not! The very thought that Laito may have done something like then proceeded to touch her made her skin crawl. She finds that she is only able to stare numbly at Reiji before anger fills her stomach. His eyes grow even colder, as if he already knew that she planning to lash out at him. Barely able to contain herself, she spins and grabs the door. She fights hot tears while she jerks it open even further. Unfortunately, a hand appears beside her head, and the door is slammed shut. Every muscle in her body becomes rigid, and her breath catches in her throat. She jumps when he starts talking directly into her ear.

“You were curious as to what is going on with you. I am as well. Participate in a couple of experiments. It will be mutually beneficial. You’ll get answers to whether you are human or not.”

She cautiously glances over her shoulder. Thankfully, Reiji isn’t invading her space like several of the others do. In fact, she has a feeling that the moment she started to turn; he moved further away. She grits her teeth tightly before she turns her gaze back to the door. She tries to put as much venom into her voice as she is possible can, but it still comes out shaky. “I don’t want to be a labrat.”

She quickly spins to face him, but she ends up pressing her back tightly into the knob. She settles for dealing with the discomfort by glaring up at him. Unfortunately, his face remains a mask of indifference. The staring contest continues for a moment before she finally snarls between her teeth. “This is pointless.”

A look of anger flashes over his face for a moment before it smoothes back out. He takes a simple step back, silently freeing the door. Dread fills Mai’s stomach, and every warning bell in her head starts to go off. This was a trap. He expected her to open the door and turn her back on him. He’d pounce on her at that point, and she’d be helpless to stop it. Her eyes narrow at him, but he simply gestures for her to leave. His voice is cold when he states. “I ‘m the best chance you have at figuring out what is going on with you, and I know all the answers to your questions. If you simply do as I ask, I’ll give you everything you want to know.”

She clenches her fists tightly while she considers her options. He’s clearly trying to bait her, and she doesn’t want to needlessly fall into the trap. She takes a deep breath to try to ease the anger, so she can think clearly. After a few seconds, she finally manages to ask, “What do you get out of this? I don’t exactly picture you doing this out of the goodness of your heart.”

To her absolute horror, he gives her an amused smile, which is followed by a chuckle. He simply turns away from her and stalks over to the desk where he picks up the beaker. He lifts the liquid until he can look through it. Just when she thinks he’s not going to answer, he says softly. “You will do what I ask and help to alleviate my boredom.”

“I’m not a toy or some labrat,” Mai snaps. He glances her way before turning his gauge back to the liquid.

“Don’t be foolish. Of course you’re not my plaything. Laito has already claimed you, and I don’t take leftovers.”

Mai finds herself both revolted and stunned by how rude he’s being. He’s usually so polite, so this felt as if it were coming out of left field. She wraps her arms around herself and decides to change the subject, since she’s becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the direction the current one is taking. She unconsciously presses her legs tightly together and lifts a hand to her chest. This isn’t the best choice. In fact, she’s sure that it’s the worst possible choice, but it could be the fastest. She could put a time limit on how long he could experiment on her and put up parameters that must be followed such as; no changing her physical appearance or causing her pain. He always followed through with all of his threats, and he held her to her word as well. She really knew nothing about Richter, and now she was starting to feel foolish for even considering listening to him. Finally, she makes a choice that she knows she will regret. “Fine, but I want you to promise that you won’t do anything…. Weird. Nothing that will cause irreparable damage, pain, or change me in some way. You can have… two weeks? A month at most. Regardless to whether you find anything or not, you stop once the time is up. ”

Reiji gives her a cold look before he lowers the beaker. To her utter relief, he gives a sharp nod before seeming to appear directly in front of her. His voice is cold and commanding. “Open your mouth.”

Confused, she takes a moment to stare at the unappetizing liquid before forcibly reminding herself that she can’t help Yui if she herself is a mess. Slowly, she opens her mouth. Reiji stoops down to glance through her mouth for only a few seconds before he straightens himself up. He lifts the beaker between them and says softly. “You are to drink all of this, then you may sit in the chair. I would like to record your reaction to it.”

Mai can’t keep the mistrustful look off her face while she stares at the liquid. “What is it?”

He scoffs coldly and holds it out to her. “As if I would not only waste my time, but go back on my word by making something to kill you. I would use less effort by just snapping your neck.”

She can’t help the glare she directs up at him, but she keeps herself from reaching out to take it out of spite. She wanted to know what it could possibly do to her. She carefully thinks over her next question for a few seconds before she asks, “What will it do to me? It’s not a drug or anything is it?”

He doesn’t reply right away, causing her to get more and more convinced that she did not want to drink whatever it was. She begins to shake her head when he says. “It is not poison, stupid human. It is just a mixture of chemicals to see if I can recreate the things you see.”

She gives him an unamused look. “So, you’re saying it’s an hallucinogen?”

He gives her another cold smile, causing her to flinch. He continues to hold it out once more. Despite the smile, his voice is cold. “It could help me figure out if something is being slipped into your food or drink.”

She wrinkles her nose before taking a deep breath. She silently berates herself for willingly walking into his trap before she snatches it away and lifts it to her mouth. She’s faintly aware, and grateful, that it doesn’t have any scent. Once her courage is gathered, she closes her eyes and tips her head back. The liquid fills her mouth, and she tries to swallow it without tasting it. To her absolute surprise, she finds that it doesn’t actually have a taste. In fact, she opens her eyes just to see if the beaker was empty. She quickly hands it back to Reiji and remains tense. He gestures to a chair, but she remains rooted in place. She kept thinking that something was going to sneak up on her, but nothing happens. She watches Reiji start to slowly circle around her with a thought look on his face, but he doesn’t say anything for the longest time. Finally, he releases a sigh and coldly flicks his hand toward the door. “I see it. So, it’s a failure. You may leave.”

“What?” Mai asks, completely baffled by his behavior. He simply turns and makes his way over to the desk. He picks something up, but she can’t see what it is. With an overwhelming sense of dread, she takes a step back. “Reiji, what did I drink?”

The minutes tick by, and she has a feeling that he isn’t going to answer her. A feeling of betrayal takes over, and she makes a rude gesture at his back. She shouldn’t be so surprised that things turned out they way they did. In an effort to calm her racing thoughts, she desperately tells herself that she just drank colored water, and he’s trying to make her panic that she drank something terrible. She stiffly turns, opens, and makes her way out the door. She pauses only once to look back at Reiji, but he clearly isn’t paying much attention to her anymore. She swallows hard and closes the door. With a deep sigh, she decides it’s in her best interest to just hurry home and starts down the hallway. She only gets a few steps before the hallway swims in front of her eyes. She is faintly aware that she staggers to the right, but she is able to retain her balance for a few seconds. An awful sense of vertigo overtakes her body, coupled with the swimming makes her dry heave. Her body staggers to the right once more, and her shoulder collides hard with the wall, earning a hiss of pain from her. She stubbornly tries to make it a few more steps, but she dry heaves so hard that she has to stop moving and lean on the wall. She slowly sinks to the floor and silently curses not only Reiji but herself. The spinning sensation continues to grow worse by the second. She closes her eyes tightly and tries to make herself relax, but she dry heaves yet again. She didn’t know what would be worse; dry heaving until her abdomen muscles ached or actually throwing up. Unfortunately, closing her eyes isn’t helping to ease her dizziness. In fact, it feels like it’s making it worse.

“Hey!”

She tiredly opens her eyes. Red and silver is the first that she is able to identify after a few seconds of squinting. She is faintly aware that she is leaning against something, but her brain can’t figure out what it is. She just knows that she’s no longer leaning against the wall. Finally, Subaru’s face comes into focus, but it’s still blurry and continues to move. He’s frowning at her. He waves his hand only inches from her nose, but she doesn’t even bother to react. The only thing she can think about is that she really, really wanted to throw up. Her eyes lock onto his mouth, and she watches his lips move, but the words are a blur. It’s almost like he’s speaking a different language entirely. Anger floods his face, and his lip curls back into a snarl, revealing his fangs to her. She’s vaguely aware that normally she would tense. He doubles his fist and slams it only inches from her face, but she doesn’t even flinch. She feels small pieces of the wall pepper her face followed by a slight stinging sensation, and she responds by dry heaving again. Disgust floods over the anger, and Subaru starts to back away as much as he can. That’s when she becomes aware that she is leaning into him.

“Don’t you dare fucking throw up on me!” he snarls. She’s not sure why she heard him so clearly now, but she doesn’t get to dwell on it. Her thoughts slowly go blank once more, so she stubbornly forces herself to focus on him.

“Huh?” She wants to say so much more. She wants to ask for help, but her mouth felt oddly dry and numb. In fact, it feels like she just got back from the dentist. He gives her another disgusted look, but it melts away when he says something she can’t quite hear. Her head suddenly slumps forward against his shoulder. She tries to lift her head again, but it feels like it weighs a hundred pounds.

“Hey!” Subaru’s voice clearly cuts through the haze again. She decides to focus solely on that. She’s not sure why his voice sounds like he is right by her ear. Her head turns to look at him, but all she sees is darkness. She figured that she must have closed her eyes at some point. Tiredly, she forces them open to look at him. He snarls at her. “You’ve spent too much time around that lazy ass. You can’t sleep here! That is my door you are leaning on! Move your ass!”

She tries to swallow, but it causes pain to erupt through her mouth. She slowly lifts a hand to try to grab some part of him. She only gets part way before she gives up. Her eyes close once more, and it feels like she’s about to doze off. Unfortunately, she had just started to relax when she’s given a violent shake. She isn’t sure, but she thinks Subaru says her name. She slowly shakes her head as a response. Her mouth just didn’t want to form words. She’s just so tired that she can’t even open her eyes anymore. A pleasant tingle starts to tickle her throat, and she finds herself already slipping into unconsciousness. The last thing she remembers is hearing Subaru yelling in her ear. “Hey! Don’t fall asleep!”

She will never trust Reiji again.

______________________________________________________________________________

Her consciousness slowly returns. Her body still feels heavy, but the dizziness is already gone. The tingling is gone as well, so she isn’t even sure she even felt it in the first place. As her consciousness becomes aware of everything around her, she realizes that she’s laying on something incredibly soft that smells amazing. She nestles deeper into it and releases a content sigh. Despite feeling heavy, her body feels so incredibly rested that her mind finally feels clear. Reluctantly, she forces her eyes open to see where she is. Unfortunately, the room is so dark that she isn’t able to make out where she is at first. She just knows that the room is incredibly large, so it’s not her bedroom. She slowly rolls onto her back with a groan and stares up at the ceiling with a blank look. She has no idea where she is, but at the moment, she doesn’t really care.

Her body finally starts to wake up, and it feels amazing, almost like she just got home from a day at the spa. She lazily stretches the relaxed muscles, and they easily give a pleasant tug. Finally, she slowly sits up. Once up, she reaches back to brace herself when her hand touches something solid. She lets out a gasp and quickly scoots away. Unfortunately, she is a lot closer to the edge then she thought she was, and her body pitches over. She lands headfirst, but it oddly doesn’t hurt at all. She finds herself lying on her side while trying to make sense of what just happened to her. A tired sigh from above her grabs her attention, but she can’t see who made it. She knew that she should be feeling afraid, but that pleasant feeling never goes away.

Something is very wrong with her.

“You really are stupid,” a sleep logged voice cuts through her thoughts. She feels herself being pulled up by her arms. She attempts to struggle, but her body remains limp until she falls against a cold one. After some shuffling, she finds herself lying on her side with a body spooning her from behind. “Don’t trust Reiji anymore.”

She hears a yawn beside her ear, causing her mind to go into overdrive. She’s lying beside Laito, and her body isn’t even trying to react. In fact, she didn’t even feel anything but a pleasant numbing sensation. She’s rudely pulled from her thoughts when she feels him press his face into her neck and inhale deeply. It’s easy to figure out where she is now. Normally, the very thought of being alone with him in his bedroom would scare her. She opens her mouth to say something, but all that comes out is odd croaking sound. She hears him chuckle, but she still doesn’t feel anything. His voice is heavy with sleep and echoes loudly in her ear. “Rest a bit more. It’ll wear off faster if you don’t resist.”

She feels him shifting their bodies before she finds her head resting on his arm. She wants nothing more than to stay awake and struggle, but her body is betraying her by already slipping back into unconsciousness.

_____________________________________________________________________________

She jerks awake and sits upright. She silently prays that everything was nothing more than a horrible nightmare, and she’s in her own room, but the green around her lets her know that she isn’t. Her heart starts to race, before it leaps into her throat. Her eyes spot something at the foot of the bed, so she turns her attention toward it to find that it’s nothing more than her uniform. After a nervous glance around the room, she finds that she is alone. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know for how long, so she quickly scrambles out of bed and switches clothing. The whole time she is changing, she expects Laito to appear out of nowhere. Thankfully, he never does, but it still sets her nerves on edge. A soft knock on the door makes her jump, and she turns her attention toward the door when she hears it open only to find Reiji’s head poking in. Anger explodes through her body. Against her better judgement, she storms his way. “What the fuck did you do to me?!”

She doubles her fist to slam it in his face, but his head disappears. Her hand collides painfully with the edge door, effectively splitting the skin. She lets out a hiss of pain and retreats a couple of steps while cradling her hand to her chest. Reiji reappears with a look of disapproval on his face. She doubles her fists again, ignoring the pain. Unfortunately before she can strike, Reiji coldly asks. “How do you feel?”

Stunned, she finds herself unable to answer or even move. The only thing she can do is frown at him for a moment. Unfortunately, he doesn’t give her time to come up with an answer. “I assume that your brush with Laito added to your stress. You have not been sleeping well, so it can be assumed that sleep deprivation is be the leading cause behind your hallucinations. This is the first experiment. Besides, that solution is toxic to vampires, so you don’t have to worry about you turning into one. You are still human.”

“You….You….” She couldn’t even get the words out. Her anger only continues to rise when he gives her a cold look.

“Next time, do not question me.”

“You… You asshole!” She finally explodes. “You drugged me! There won’t be a next time!”

He scoffs, but he doesn’t reply. He simply disappears behind the door, but there’s no way that she’s going to let him get away from the consequences of his actions. She lunges forward and shoves the door open enough that she can grab his arm. In seconds, her back and head collides hard with the hallway wall. Pain rushes through her body, and she finds herself dizzy for a moment. To her horror, Reiji’s face is inches from her own. His voice is low and clearly threatening. “Do not mistake my interest in your delusions as an interest in you. You are simply here to alleviate boredom, human.”

One of his hands tightly wraps around her throat when she attempts to say something, and she finds her air supply abruptly cut off. Full panic sets in, and she starts to thrash. Her panic is made even worse when he leans in until his lips brush her ear. “Do not forget. It was you who came to me.”

He gives her neck another painful squeeze before he finally lets her go. The second she is able to, she begins sucking in greedy breathes. He gives her a look of disgust and coldly states. “You are to come here after school from now on. Now, you have two minutes to get down and into the car. If I were you, I would avoid Subaru.”

She doesn’t get a chance to ask him what he meant by that since he disappears. She glances up and down the hallway to find it empty, but there’s a more pressing concern on her mind. How long had she been asleep? She gives her head a shake and reluctantly makes her way toward the car. After all, she could think about it on the way to school. To her surprise, she’s the first to arrive, so she doesn’t pay much mind to where she sits. She only stares at the floor between her feet while she thinks over what had happened. She only looks up when something brushes one of her arms. To her surprise, it’s Shuu as he sits beside her. Her eyes turn back to the floor, but she jumps when she feels something cold and wet brush along her jaw on the opposite side as him. She presses her body against Shuu’s and turns a startled gaze toward the culprit. To her horror, her eyes meet amused green ones. Laito gives her a playful grin and winks at her. He playfully says, “Long time no see, Sweetheart.”

She can’t help but roll her eyes and mutters. “Not long enough.”

Laito lets out an obnoxious whine that grates on her nerves. His arm comes up to rest on the seat behind her, so she presses harder against Shuu, simply ignoring his muttered complaint. Laito’s eyes seem to darken a little, but it disappears just as quickly. Instead, he gives her a mock offended look. “Ah, don’t be like that. I missed you!”

Disgust fills her stomach, and she turns her gaze away. Unfortunately, that’s when Shuu decides to speak up. “Are you planning to crush me with your weight?”

“Huh?”

Laito lets out a laugh and playfully says, “Hey, Shuu. I don’t think it’s nice to call a girl fat.”

Mai’s mouth drops open, and she quickly peels herself away from Shuu in order to give him a dark look. Unfortunately, it’s lost on him since his eyes were already closed. In fact, he didn’t even bother to respond to Laito’s jab. Mai decides to keep her body from touching either of theirs for the rest of the trip. She awkwardly stares at the floor and tries to push Richter’s words about Laito out of her mind. It turns out to be easier said than done. Finally, she gets an unwelcome reprieve in the form of Subaru, who is the last to board. She cringes slightly at the sight of the hostile stare he gives her before he settles into the last remaining seat. Confused by the look, she finds herself unable to form words to even try to greet him. The car starts moving without anyone saying a word. Unfortunately, the tense, awkward silence continues to stretch with Subaru casting what could be considered death glares Mai’s way, making her increasingly uncomfortable. Finally, Laito lets out a laugh, effectively ending the silence. Laito’s coo comes out with a mocking edge to it. “Ah, sweet little Subaru, she didn’t mean to.”

“Fuck off, pervert. Don’t call me such a disgusting nickname,” Subaru snarls. Mai wants to ask what’s going on, but she has a feeling that she shouldn’t say anything at all. Ayato lets out a snort from his corner where he is squishing Yui. His snort turns into laugher, which serves to drive Mai’s curiosity even higher.

“She got you good, though!” Ayato laughs.

“I said….fuck….off!” Subaru snarls out. Mai swallows hard and glances at the side of Laito’s face. After a moment of silent debate, she decides to just ask him what they were talking about. She opens her mouth, but the words seem to die in her throat. Laito seems to notice the movement out of the corner of his eye and turns to give her an amused look, but the amusement seemed incredibly cold. Her mouth instantly shuts, and she gives him a cold glare before turning her gaze back to the floor. For a brief moment, she wonders if he’s in a bad mood, but she decides not to dwell on it. What did it matter to her what he thought and did? Her heart skips a beat, and Richter’s words bubble up to the surface of her mind. She cringes at the thought, and her skin begins to crawl all over again.

He suddenly leans forward, causing every muscle in her body to tense. Her gaze lifts to lock with his once more, and her breath catches in her throat upon seeing his proximity. His lips appear by her face, and she fully expects him whisper something perverted to her. To her absolute surprise, he loudly whispers, “You threw up all over poor Subaru on Saturday. You know he was only trying to help you.”

The blood drains from her face, and humiliation takes over all other thoughts. Her gaze snaps back to find that Subaru’s face, which is covered in a light blush. His arms are folded over his chest, and his eyes are closed. He snarls something, but it’s drowned out by Ayato’s laughter. Somehow, he manages to add between his laughter. “You should have seen the look on his face! He….he….”

He leans forward with his arms wrapped around his stomach. He continues to laugh so hard that he’s unable to finish what he is saying. At this point, Subaru’s growling had grown to the point that it could be heard, even over the sound of Laito and Kanato’s laughter, who had joined in with Ayato. The laughter from the triplets and the look on Subaru’s face just serves to make Mai feel guilty. Despite blushing so hard, Subaru looks absolutely livid. Finally, Ayato manages to reign himself in enough to say. “You threw up on his face! I have never seen him look so pissed! I thought he was going to kill you!”

Ayato once again begins to laugh. She jumps when she hears a chuckle to her right and turns her gaze to Shuu. He lazily opens one eye to look at her, but it is closed only seconds later. After waiting for a few moments to see if he’ll say anything else, she decides to return her attention to Subaru in an effort to apologize.

“Subaru, I… I’m so sorry!” She says louder than she intended. His red eyes snap open and turn to give her a murderous glare. She unconsciously presses her body into the seat behind her. Her heart grinds to a halt when he leans forward, which just makes the triplets laugh even harder.

“Fuck you, bitch. I don’t need your useless apology!” He slams his hand roughly into the seat beside him and turns his attention to the window. Eventually, the laughter dies, but the ride remains awkward the rest of the trip.

The night air never felt as refreshing as it did when she finally escaped from the limo. She stumbles when Subaru brushes past her, but she doesn’t have the will to snap at him for it. A sense of sadness wells up in her chest while she watches him walk away. It looks like she will have to try to start over on their friendship, if it’s even salvageable. She jumps when something touches her shoulder and turns to find that it’s only Yui. A sense of relief washes over her, and she can feel her body relax. Her friend gives her a sad smile and gestures toward the school, as if she were inviting Mai to walk along side her. To Mai’s absolute surprise, she finds that all the brothers were gone. With a sigh, Mai finds herself following after Yui.

The two girls slowly make their way to Mai’s first class. Mai considers telling Yui what happened with Reiji, but she finds herself embarrassed by her own stupidity, so she decides to just keep her mouth shut. Yui drone on about something, but Mai can’t bring herself to really pay much attention. When they approach the door, they hear someone calling out from behind. “Masochistic Kitten! Hello!”

Both turn their gaze toward the loud voice, and Mai’s heart sinks when she sees the cheerful blonde vampire surrounded by girls waving at them. She cringes at the dark looks they receive from the girls surrounding Kou. This is going to turn into a headache if he keeps casually calling out to Yui. Her friend lifts her hand to wave back, but Mai quickly grabs it and gives the blonde girl a disbelieving look. She’s careful to keep her voice low when she hisses, “What are you doing?!”

Yui gives her a sheepish look. “Oh, I was… I was waving back.”

Mai can’t help but roll her eyes. Without letting go, she reaches out, opens the classroom door, and drags her friend inside. “You are too nice for your own good, Yui. That’s why you are in this situation!”

Her friend gives an embarrassed chuckle, but she doesn’t say anything in defense of herself. Mai lets go once the door is closed and turns to look at Yui with a stern look. Yui’s face flushes, and her gaze drops to look at her feet and begins to fidget. The whole situation would have been hilarious if Mai had been in the mood to laugh. With a sigh, Mai closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to ease her irritation. Once she gets a handle on her emotions, she slowly opens her eyes to find Yui still looking down with a forlorn expression. Guilt smothers the rest of her irritation, so she reaches out to pat Yui’s shoulder in a comforting manner. Making sure to keep her voice soft, she says, “Yui, I just don’t think it’s wise to get close to him or those other boys. I don’t even think you should be nice to them.”

Yui continues to fidget. Her already soft voice becomes almost inaudible. “I.. they are….new, and they seem so nice. Don’t you remember what it was like when you moved here?”

Mai releases a sigh and says, “Yui, they are vampires. They don’t need you to be kind to them. They aren’t trying to fit in.”

Yui finally looks up at Mai and gives a small, stubborn shake of her head. “Not all vampires are bad, you know. A-”

Mai lifts a hand and closes her eyes. “Yui, I swear to god. You better not say that Ayato is a good vampire. In case you didn’t notice, he’s not the best person in the world. Nothing about him can be defined as good.”

She hears a strange sound, which causes her to open her eyes. A look of frustration adorns Yui’s face, taking Mai by surprise. Yui wraps her arms around her stomach and says, “Ayato is not as cruel as some of the others. I really wish you would stop being so negative about him. He’s just… gentle when you can’t see it.”

Frustration has Mai gritting her teeth. She clenches her fists and says, “Listen, Yui, he’s way too obsessive and so possessive! Did you forget that he has tried to keep you from being friends with me?”

Yui’s look of frustration continues to grow. Her next words are barely a whisper, but she may have been yelling. “You can’t judge Ayato off of Laito.”

A jolt races through Mai’s body, and she finds herself speechless. Yui’s eyes widen, and she lifts her hands to cover her mouth. With a sharp pain racing through her chest, Mai takes a step back and shakes her head, but she tenses when Yui reaches out to grab her wrist. She quickly moves out of range and snarls. “Fine. Do what you want, but you’re going to get nowhere in life if you stay with him. I can’t help you stop your transformation unless you want me to!”

Yui’s image begins to get blurry, so Mai quickly spins away. She could feel warm fingers brush her arm, but she quickly steps away. “Don’t touch me.”

“Mai, I…” Yui tries to say, but Mai simply makes a shooing gesture over her shoulder. She doesn’t bother looking back to see how Yui took it. She just moves toward her chair, but she freezes when Yui says, “Don’t you find any good in them? I know that Laito is terrible to you, but… but…. What about Subaru?”

Mai glances back at Yui and says softly. “I don’t even really know Subaru, Yui. He doesn’t talk to me. To answer your question, no. He’s violent and rude. How could that be a good thing?”

Yui gains a desperate look on her face and takes a step toward Mai, but she seems to think better of it when Mai’s eyes narrow into a stern glare. Yui takes a moment to gather her thoughts then says in a rush. “Listen, I know that Laito hurt you! I don’t deny that, but he’s done a lot for you, hasn’t he?”

Mai gives her friend a disbelieving look. A dull pain rips through her heart, but she stubbornly chooses to ignore it. Instead, she says as calmly as she can. “No, he hasn’t! He’s been cold, cruel, and he…”

She trails off and shakes her head. It’s better to not even think about it anymore, or she might just spill everything. She turns and finishes the journey to her chair. She flops down, intent on not saying else. Unfortunately, Yui isn’t done, so she makes her way over and squats beside Mai. A reassuring look overtakes Yui’s face, and her hand lifts to grab Mai’s hand, who tries to shake it off. Finally, Yui seems to decide to approach the conversation from a different angle. She softly says, “Ok, I understand. Something happened between the two of you. You used to trust Laito like I trust Ayato. To be honest, I think you still do, and you’re just hurt. Still, you can’t deny this next one. What about Shuu?”

Mai glances at the blonde with a confused gaze. “Huh?”

A smile lights up Yui’s face. In fact, she even looks excited. In response to her excitement, her voice grows a little louder. “Don’t you like Shuu? He’s been nice to us when we’ve woken him up.”

Mai releases a sigh and says in an exhausted voice. “Yui, you know…”

Unfortunately, Yui isn’t keen to listen since she starts to name off the things he’s done to “help” Mai. “He lets you hide in his room, when you need it. He’s entertaining. I mean, I’ve never seen you laugh as hard as you do when you and I wake him up. Ah, I suppose he’s a good listener.”

Mai rolls her eyes. “Yui have you ever tried talking to him?”

She gives her head a slow shake, which causes Mai to chuckle. She gives a small shake of her own head and says, “Yui, in order to be a great listener, you actually have to listen.”

She tries to emphasize the last word. Yui lets out a giggle, so Mai starts to laugh as well. Once it dies down, she continues by saying. “Listen, I don’t mind Shuu, but it doesn’t mean he’s nice. In case you’ve forgotten, I laugh because you always somehow get caught and drug down to be his teddy bear. Wouldn’t you laugh if it was me?”

Yui frowns at Mai, but she isn’t given a chance to respond before Mai continues. “Listen, I know there is nothing I can do about Ayato or the others, but stay away from Kou and his brothers. We don’t know anything about them except they are vampires, and you know vampires only want one thing.”

Yui opens her mouth to respond but jumps when the door opens. Both girls turn their attention in that direction as a couple of students pour in. Yui quickly stands up and straightens her skirt. Just before she turns to leave, Mai reaches out to grab her forearm and says in the softest, sternest voice she can. “Yui, stay away from them. If not for my sake, than do it for Ayato. You know that he’ll get upset if you’re around other guys.”

She releases her friend. Yui gives her an uneasy smile then waves goodbye before disappearing. Mai turns her attention to her desk and closes her eyes. She could feel her hands shaking, and that annoying pain in her chest is still eating at her heart. She slowly lets her head rest on top of her desk and closes her eyes. In an effort to ease the pain, she keeps silently repeating that she’s not heartbroken.

______________________________________________________________________________

Thankfully, the day proceeds like any other day until her history class decides to shake things up. To her absolute horror, the teacher informs them that they will be working in groups of three or four to do a presentation about a major event in the history of the world. Most events consisted of wars such as World War I and II or the crusades, but there were a few other things mixed in, such as the Black Plague. A trickle of unease runs down her spine when the teacher informs them that the groups are already set up. Most were groups of four, but there were two groups that only had three. She glances around the room, wondering who her partners were going to be. The teacher begins to call out names, and she finds herself silently praying that neither Yuma nor Kou end up in her group. Her breath catches in her throat when she hears Yuma’s name being called.

Relief floods through her body when her name isn’t called along side his. She hears a chuckle from behind her, but she chooses to ignore it. The minutes drag by while the teacher continues to set the groups up, and her mind begins to wonder to how she could possibly repair things with Subaru. The sound of her name calls her attention back to the present, and the dread starts all over again. Her name is followed by a boy’s name she doesn’t recognize, which is then followed by Kou’s name. She turns to glare at the blonde when movement catches her eye. To her left is a boy, that she doesn’t recognize. Once her attention is turned on him, he gives her a half hearted wave. Her eyes quickly turn away without returning the wave, and she surveys the rest of the groups. It appears the groups were decided by those sitting closest to them in the seating arrangement. She figured the teacher did this so there wouldn’t be much noise when the students moved the desks closer together. Once the groups were announced, the students shift closer to their groups. She jumps when the boy quickly pushes his desk closer to Mai and Kou’s desk. Once her attention is turned to him once more, he gives her a half hearted smile. This time, she notices that it’s slightly lopsided. Despite the disarming smile, she finds suspicion welling up in her body, which in turn causes her to feel sick to her stomach. When had she become so suspicious of everyone around her?

She jumps when Kou’s voice rings loudly in her ear. “I don’t want to do this.”

She casts a cold look in his direction, which he returns with an infuriatingly cheerful look. A deeper voice gains her attention only seconds later, causing her to drag her gaze back to the human boy beside her. “It’s not that bad actually. I think we just need to state the reason that it happened, skim over the important parts, then state how it ended.”

Kou gives the boy a dark look, but he easily wipes it away only moments later. He puts his hands over his head and lazily stretches. Much to Mai’s irritation, his voice is cheerful once more. “Ah, then I suppose you won’t mind doing it yourself?”

The poor boy gives Kou a startled look, but he isn’t given a chance to say anything since the blonde vampire abruptly stands up. The teacher calls his name, but Kou simply leaves the classroom after calling out that he’s going to the bathroom. The girls in the class squeal softly at his departure, causing Mai to roll her eyes. She glances around, silently wondering how many of the girls would squeal if they knew what he really was. With a sick feeling, she realizes that it might make the squealing worse. Vampires aren’t the scary monsters they used to be depicted as. The boy beside her suddenly sighs softly. “I have a feeling that it’ll just be me and you who do the assignment.”

Mai wrinkles her nose, but she nods and casts a wary glance toward him. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to notice and just gives her a lopsided grin once more. She takes this moment to really observe him. He’s a lot more attractive than she thought he’d be. His skin is lightly tanned, which matches his short, sandy blonde hair perfectly. His eyes are an interesting hazel color that almost looks simply brown at first glance. After a moment of silence, he lets out a deep chuckle that causes Mai to smile a little. Still, she can’t get rid of the nagging warning that coils deep in the pit of her stomach. Why hadn’t she noticed someone like him before? She didn’t remember a new transfer student. The last one was Yui.

Once again, she wonders when she had become so paranoid.

______________________________________________________________________________

The rest of the hour seems to fly by, even though the two of them don’t get much work done. Mai learns that he ironically went by Shiro and is an easy going kid that’s only a year older than her. He had a rebel stage and skipped school to the point that he was held back a year, causing him to repeat freshman year. To be honest, she could still see the rebellious stage by the state of his uniform. He looked like he had just rolled out of bed and threw his school uniform on. He wore everything but the tie, and he didn’t bother to button up the jacket.

It came as a pleasant surprise that it was easy to chat normal, teenage things, like what type of movies they watch or music they listen to. She casually mentions reading, but he wrinkles his nose at the very thought, which earns a chuckle from her. They were warned a couple times by the teacher to begin their work, but nothing was ever enforced. Thankfully, Kou doesn’t seem very interested in joining their discussion when he finally returns. In fact, he takes his phone out and uses Mai’s body to hide it from the teacher, and it keeps his attention.

Unfortunately, the class comes to an end, and the teacher informs the students that they are to either divide up the work or meet up after school if they aren’t finished. While gathering up and helping to straighten out the desks, Mai feels a light tap on her shoulder. She lifts her eyes to meet Shiro’s bright gaze. He lifts a folded piece of paper up between them that draws her attention. She gives it a suspicious stare, but she takes it from him anyways. He gives her his lopsided grin once more and says. “I think it’ll be easier for us to work outside class than dividing it up. We both know Kou won’t do his work, and two sets of hands and eyes will make the work go faster. Besides, it’ll be funner than working alone.”

She barely stifles the chuckle upon hearing the snarl coming from Kou’s direction. She thought for sure that he would’ve already left by now. To her frustration, the paper is suddenly ripped from her hands, causing her to flinch back as a sting races up two of her fingers. She turns her hand over to find blood bubbling to the surface. She only hesitates for a second before her heart skips a beat. Her gaze snaps up to see Kou leaning dangerously close to her, so she responds by lifting her fingers to her mouth. He responds by giving her a cold smile before pulling away and glancing over the paper. His visible eye slides over to give Shiro a sickeningly sweet smile. “Don’t I get your number?”

Silence fills the space between the three of them. Unfortunately, they are interrupted by the next class beginning to enter the room, so Shiro releases a soft sigh and says. ‘Sure. Sorry. I didn’t think of that.”

He drops his bag and pulls out a notebook before jotting down some numbers, tears it out, and holds it out to Mai. She’s quick to grab it and shove it into her pocket before Kou can do anything else and sends a cold look in the blonde vampire’s direction. The exchange only takes a few seconds, then the three of them separate to go on with their day. 

_____________________________________________________________________________

Despite her initial unease about Shiro, she finds herself spending more time with Shiro than she expected. In fact, only a week has gone by, but it feels like she knew him for months, even years. His easy going nature seems to be helping Yui relax as well, when she’s able to escape Ayato. Somehow, the three of them have become really good friends in such a short amount of time. 

On another positive note, Reiji hasn’t approached her about the experiments he wished to conduct. In fact, the only concern she has is the fact that Laito seems to be keeping his distance from her, which has left her on edge for the last few days. She had become so used to Laito being in her face that she isn’t sure how to handle his seemingly cold shoulder. In fact, he has gone so far as to no longer greeting her in the limo. That wasn’t the only thing he stopped. He also wasn’t sneaking into her bed, and she had even seen him in the hallways leaning into other girls. His green eyes always seem to catch her at the worst possible time, which was when she could feel anger boiling in the pit of her stomach. She stubbornly tells herself that it’s nothing more than anger at him for playing off as sweet and innocent while tarnishing yet another girl. She’d simply turn her attention away when he caught her and continue on with her day. Lately, she been noticing a sympathetic look from Yui and curious one from Shiro.

Another downside to the last few days was the fact that Kou and Yuma seemed to be appearing a lot more than before, which always ended in some sort of scene since Ayato would choose that moment to appear. Unfortunately, he would start some sort of loud argument with one of the other boys that almost always turned physical. Another concerning problem was Yui’s increased inability to actually focus on anything. During their few minutes of ‘girl’ time, Mai begins noticing that Yui’s attention span has gotten shorter by the day, and she frequently zones out. Once she does, nothing is able to capture get her attention again. Her appetite seems to have disappear entirely, but she appears to be always drinking something every time Mai saw her.

Thankfully, the three has managed to escape Kou, Ayato and the others during their lunch hour, so they took refuge on the school’s roof. Yui’s leaning against the wall beside the door, while Shiro and Mai were sitting opposite her sharing looks of concern. The blonde girl is wearing a far away look on her face, and it’s obvious that she’s on autopilot. The only thing she has touched is the chocolate milk that Mai had placed on her plate.

“Hey, Yui?” Mai asks loudly, hoping to snap her friend out of whatever zone she had disappeared into. Shiro releases a sigh after a few minutes of silence, and he turns his gaze to Mai. Seeing the movement out of the corner of her eye, she reluctantly turns to look at him.

“She’ll be out of it for the rest of the day. What’s wrong with her anyway? Is it that boyfriend of hers?” He asks softly, as if he didn’t want Yui to hear him. Mai opens her mouth to tell him, but she thinks better of it and instantly shuts her mouth. She finds herself staring at Shiro, who now looks even more curious. After he asks her again, she swallows hard and looks at her lunch. This is her chance to tell someone that is unrelated to the whole problem, but she finds her words stuck in her throat, though she’s not sure why. She can tell him everything and maybe even convince him to go to the police for her. Her gaze lifts to look at Yui, and it feels like her heart starts to sink to the pit of her stomach. She has to do something in order to help her friend, so she tries to force herself to talk.

“I…...I don’t know.” She lamely states. She flinches and closes her eyes silently berating herself for chickening out at the last second, but she can’t shake the eerie feeling that something bad will happen to Shiro if she tells him anything. She slowly opens her eyes once more to find herself staring at her half eaten lunch again. The weight of both the silence and his stare is beginning to wear on her nerves, so she forces herself to look up at him and smile weakly. “I mean, it’s not like I live with her or anything.”

He’s wearing an indescribable look on his face, but it quickly melts away into a caring smile. “But you two are best friends, right? I can see that you two care about each other.”

Mai finds herself unable to say anything in response to that, so her gaze drops back to her lunch. Thankfully, her phone vibrates, freeing her from an awkward silence. She reaches into her pocket to retrieve it. Just as she opens it, the phone vibrates again. To her utter frustration, there are four texts from Ayato, who is rudely demanding to know where they are hiding Yui. She starts to answer him with a rude reply of her own when she hears her name being called. Reluctantly, she glances up to find Shiro giving her an expectant look. Embarrassment fills her chest when she realizes that she doesn’t know what he wants an answer to, so she clears her throat in an effort to fill the silence. Thankfully, he picks up on the fact that she didn’t know what he asked and repeats his question with a chuckle. “So, I talked to Kou about our assignment today. You know it’s due on Monday. I guess he has to work all weekend, so we’re gonna meet up today after school in the library to finish it. I forgot to mention that earlier.”

“Oh,” Is all she manages to say. She releases a soft groan of irritation when the faint sound of the bell ringing catches her attention. Movement out of the corner of her eye captures her attention. She turns just in time to see Yui standing up and walking away without taking her tray full of food with her. Mai simply watches her friend practically zombie walk through the door and down the first couple of stairs. Worry bubbles up once more. Was she running out of time? She tries to hide her worry from Shiro by gathering up not only her and Yui’s tray, but Shiro’s too. She gives him a smile and quickly excuses herself before he can say anything. Unfortunately, she only manages to make it to the door before he catches up with her. Thankfully, he doesn’t ask any more questions and simply opens the door for her. She gives him a quick thank you and proceeds down the flight of stairs before he can say anything.

The trip to the cafeteria is more nerve wrecking than she cares to admit. The second bell has already rang, so she knew she’s late to her next class, but it doesn’t bother her like it normally would. Her thoughts keep turning back to the mounting dread she’s feeling in the pit of her stomach. To make matters worse, she’s seeing the women in white at the very edge of her vision. Every single one of them send a shiver down her spine, so she tries to keep her gaze locked on the floor, but her heart is starting to pound loudly in her chest. She tells herself that they aren’t real, but her thoughts keep turning back to the girl that attacked her in the bathroom. She isn’t sure when she had started to shake, but she finds herself barely able to keep a hold of the trays. She finally makes it to the cafeteria and drops the trays off before practically running to her locker. Once she arrives, she gathers her bookbag and shuts the locker. She closes her eyes and forces herself to focus on her breathing in an effort to calm herself before she went to class. Unfortunately, she’s unable to calm down when something cold touches her shoulder. Her heart feels like it has halted completely in her chest, and she spins around, fully expecting to find one of the women standing there. 

Unfortunately, it’s something much worse.

Her eyes lock with curious grey ones, and her body tenses up. She hasn’t dealt with him much, so she has no idea what to expect from him. His messy black hair and scars just further his eerie appearance. She takes an unintentional step back when he leans closer to her. Unfortunately, her back presses against the cold metal of the locker behind her, making her heart start to race. To make the whole situation even worse, he inhales softly a couple times, causing goosebumps to raise all over her skin. In response, she lifts her arms to her chest, as if it’ll protect her from his actions. His eyes drift closed before they slowly open only moments later. His voice is so soft that she has to struggle just to hear him. “You….are…..afraid.”

“Uhhhh….” She finds herself unable to figure out a response to that. He doesn’t sound like he’s asking a question, so she decides it’s better to not say anything else. To her surprise, he doesn’t make any move to scoot closer to her, but she’s not sure if it’s a good or a bad thing. She decides it isn’t a good thing, since she has no idea what he could possibly want. She flinches when he moves again, though he only to tilts his head a little.

“Why?”

“Uhhhh….. It’s…...hard to explain?” Mai finds herself completely unsure of her own answer. His grey eyes seem to bear into her soul, effectively keeping her frozen in place, much like how Touga seems to. A sense of fear begins to coil in her stomach. It almost feels like she’s dealing with Kanato instead of Azusa. She reluctantly forces her gaze to move away from the vampire in front of her, but she’s careful to keep him in her peripheral vision just in case. Her gaze locks with the wall behind him. Once her gaze is away from his, she finds that she’s in control of her body again. Now, she just needs to get away from him. She slides a foot to her right and flinches when it scrapes loudly across the flooring. To her relief, Azusa makes no move to stop her while she continues to scoot away from him.

“Are you…..afraid of….me?” His soft words cause every muscle in her body to tense. He sounds hurt, but she can’t figure out how this works to his advantage. Her gaze turns back to his face when she sees him moving. Every fine hair on her body stands on end. He’s taken a step toward her, and she fully expects some sort of meltdown, like one of Kanato’s, but all he does is tilt his head a little. “I…..don’t…...want…..you…...to…..be…….afraid.”

Chills race down Mai’s spine. If he was trying to reassure her, he was doing a terrible job. Silence overtakes the hallway, and Mai continues her retreat. Finally, Azusa releases a soft sigh, effectively halting her once more. She has to strain to hear his next words as well. “Is….Eve…..ok?”

 

She tenses at the name. Kou and Yuma let it slip a couple of times, so she has a feeling he’s asking about Yui, but there is no way she is going to answer him. After a few uncomfortable seconds tick by, it becomes apparent that he doesn’t plan to actually do anything to her, but it doesn’t do anything to ease the unease that is filling her stomach and chest. This boy’s even eerier than Kanato is. His sad eyes continue to bore into her and eats away at her resolve, so she softly, and carefully, says. “I’m sorry. I don’t know who Eve is. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get to class before I get in too much trouble.”

She fully expects him to lash out at her while she starts to quickly back away from him, but he doesn’t. He just retrains a strange look on his face while he watches her leave. Once she reaches the staircase to head up to the second floor, she doesn’t waste any time in hurrying out of sight. Despite the initial relief at escaping, a sense of guilt spreads through her chest. Azusa hadn’t done anything remotely threatening to her.

She firmly tells herself that she has nothing to feel guilty about since he’s a vampire and can’t be trusted. There’s something eerie going on with him. She shoves the disturbing thoughts from her mind and quickly makes her way toward her class, but she pauses once she reaches the door. After a few seconds of staring at the doorknob, she glances over her shoulder. Thankfully, nothing is there, but she still has an uneasy feeling. Still, nothing is immediately standing out, but she still couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Her thoughts begin to race, and she tears start to well up in her eyes. She angrily wipes at her eyes, silently thankful that no one’s around to see her. She steps away from her class door and covers her face with her hands. Just what is wrong with her? A cold sweat has begun to break out over her skin, and she jumps when she hears a loud giggle echo through the hallway from every direction. Her gaze snaps to look for the source of the sound. Her heart’s racing so wildly that there is a dull ache in her chest. She fully expects to find a woman, but thankfully, the hallway is empty. Another giggle echoes eerily from the direction of a classroom that she knows should be empty. Upon closer inspection, she realizes that the door is cracked open just enough that yet another giggle escapes through. Mai considers looking into the classroom for the source of the sound, but she instantly dismisses the thought. Nothing good ever came from investigating creepy sounds, so she turns to reach for the door to her class. Unfortunately, she doesn’t even touch it before she hears a frighteningly familiar voice mutter. “Good girl. Be as loud as you want.”

The girl responds with something, but Mai doesn’t pay close attention. Her blood runs cold, and the only thing she can think about is the fact that the girl’s in danger. Her thoughts quickly turn to the best way to help the girl. Unconsciously, she starts toward the classroom in order to carry out her nonexistent plan. She only takes a couple of steps before she stops herself. What is she doing? Is she seriously going to walk right up to him while he’s doing dirty things with another girl? The very thought makes her sick to her stomach, but she can’t help feeling guilty that she’s relieved his attention has been diverted elsewhere. She forces herself to take a couple more steps toward the half moan half giggling sound. She should really help that girl he’s with. Maybe she didn’t know that he was nothing more than a monster with a handsome face. Unfortunately, she finds the burning in the pit of her stomach to be too much, so she turns away from the classroom and starts down the hallway. She silently berates herself for not helping the girl. Before she knows it, she’s already passed her classroom and even off the same floor of the school. Instead of trying to go back to her classroom, she pauses in the middle of the hallway once again and closes her eyes. She needed to calm down, so she decides to focus on her breathing.

She only manages to get a couple of deep breathes in before a cool hand touches her sweating forehead, effectively stopping her heart. She flinches back a couple of steps, and her eyes snap open. A sigh of relief helps her muscles relax when she finds a familiar, but concerned, face hovering directly in front of hers. Shiro lifts his hands up beside his face and gives her a nervous smile. “Easy there, tiger. I’m not gonna hurt you!”

He lets out a laugh at his own lame joke, but it’s clearly forced. She flinches and uses the back of her hand to wipe away the sweat that’s lingering on her face. She isn’t sure why her skin felt so hot. In fact, it’s weird because she’s sweating, but her bones feel ice cold. She wraps her arms around herself and forces a smile onto her face. She playfully sticks her tongue out at him, but it doesn’t stop the concern from reappearing on his face. He takes a step toward her, and his hands come to rest on her shoulders, but she flinches away without even realizing it. A frown settles over his face. She finds herself silently hoping that he won’t ask her what’s wrong.

Unfortunately, he’s her friend, so her silent wish goes unanswered. “Mai? Are you ok? Is something wrong?”

She closes her eyes and takes a couple of steadying breaths before reopening them. She gives him a smile and a shrug. Upon seeing his expression turn into a stern one, she releases a defeated sigh. Apparently she isn’t going to be able to brush his concerns off so easily. “It’s…….nothing.”

His scoff sounds almost like he’s reprimanding her. He reaches out once more, and she feels every muscle in her body tensing. Thankfully, she doesn’t flinch away this time, but he still notices it and lets his hand fall to his side. An uneasy silence settles between them for a couple of seconds before he suddenly snaps his fingers, causing her to jump. Ignoring her frustrated look, he gives her a playful smile. “Why don’t we sneak into the library and start on our history project before that stick in the mud Kou shows up? You can even tell me what’s wrong without worrying about someone eavesdropping. It’ll be like two birds and one stone.”

He gives her that lopsided grin of his. Unease swells through her chest, and she glances toward a random classroom door. She should probably get to class or Reiji might find and punish her. Anger instantly burns the pit of her stomach at the thought of Reiji. She’s still angry that she had been drugged, even if she originally agreed to working with him. The overwhelming need to rebel against his instructions threatens to overwhelm her.

She is a teenager, after all.

Without giving it a second thought, she turns her attention back to Shiro and nods. He gives her another grin, and they quickly make their way toward the library. A sense of gratitude overtakes her, and she finds herself feeling more relaxed than she ever has with Yui. She only half pays attention while he tells her about his classes, and how much he wishes that the school year would just end already. She can’t help but smile at the fact that Shiro reminds Mai of Yui when they first became friends. Perhaps that’s why she feels so comfortable around him. They finally arrive at the large library, effectively halting any more pondering she can do on the subject. They cautiously peek inside to find the librarian’s not at her desk. After making sure the coast is clear, they slip into the room. She can still vividly remember the first time she stepped foot inside the huge library. It was so large that she was positive that she’d get lost in it if she ventured too far from the door. The room is easily the size of four or five classrooms, if not bigger. It has two levels. The bottom level is dedicated to strictly fiction and is easily the busiest. The top floor is packed full of non-fiction books, but most students only go up there if they are working on homework. Tables that could easily fit six people fit through the very center of each aisle between the tall shelves. In the very back corners, there are three chairs in a small circle around a small table. The arm chairs are easily the softest that she has ever had the pleasure to sit on. The upper leveled looks similar to the bottom one. The lighting seems more natural than it should, but she isn’t sure how since it’s always night outside when she visits the library.

She’s broken out of her thoughts when Shiro quickly bolts toward the staircase leading up to the non-fiction part of the library. Mai only hesitates for a moment before she quickly makes her after him. They silently move all the way to the back before settling in the comfortable arm chairs. She barely manages to represses the moan of pleasure at being able to relax. Unfortunately, her relaxation is short lived, since Shiro wastes no time before jumping into their project. Luckily, she has the history book they need since he left his in his backpack back in the classroom. The hours seem to quickly tick by. Surprising, they accomplish a lot more than she thought they would. In fact, they are almost finished with it. Finally, their conversation starts to turn toward dangerous territory.

“So, is Yui ok? Is she in a bad relationship?” He asks, a hint of concern twisting through his words. She finds herself staring intently at the history book in her lap. She isn’t sure where to start or how much to tell him. Finally, she drags her gaze up to look at him when she hears him sigh. He sets the book he took from the shelves on the table between them and gives her a stern look. “Listen, you look like you’ve been in pain the last few days. Now, I can help you, but you have to be willing to talk to me about what is wrong.”

It feels like the world around her comes crashing down with those haunting words. Hadn’t she said similar words to Yui only months before? Her hands begin to shake, and an overwhelming feeling to just blurt everything out overtakes her. She manages to stop herself from doing so when she realizes that he isn’t going to believe her. Her hands begin to tightly grip the history book in her lap. She is Yui, and he is her old self. She is now caught up in a net full of hungry, vicious vampires, and he’s the outsider looking in with an unbiased view. Her thoughts race, and her gaze drops to the book. She has a chance to tell him everything that has happened to her. He might be able to actually help her, even if he doesn’t believe her. After all, he is a guy, but there is one huge problem staring her in the face.

He’s human. He’ll be ripped apart by the brothers if he tried to interfere. A sick feeling swells in the pit of her stomach. Is this the worry Yui had when she first approached Mai for help? It must be. That’s why she was so unwilling to tell Mai anything. She stares hard at the book while a sense of guilt begins to spread through her chest, threatening to choke her. She was so cold and unwilling to believe Yui at first, so why would Shiro be any different? How much could she tell him without sounding crazy? She could end up in the hospital again if she wasn’t careful, and the thought sends a shiver down her spine. There is no way she can simply go around claiming that vampires are real.

“Mai?” Shiro’s soft voice cuts through her thoughts, and she slowly drags her gaze up to look at him. He gives her an encouraging smile. “It’s ok. Take your time. You don’t need to rush anything, but I do want you to know that I am here to help you and Yui.”

She finds herself feeling even more tense than before, despite his comforting words. She drops her gaze once more. She needs someone to talk to, and Yui’s becoming more and more like a zombie. She realizes that it wasn’t only Yui. Laito was distant as well. She thought she could trust him, but she isn’t so sure anymore. Her chest gives a dull ache. She didn’t realize that she had been starting to feel so alone that the simple thought of having someone to finally talk to without the feeling of being judged is so overwhelming that she couldn’t hold herself back anymore. Before she can stop herself, her mouth is moving. “Well, it’s not like…. I don’t really know how to explain it. She’s…. Damaged? No. That’s not the word.”

Her mind feels like it’s starting to shut down. “She’s been hurt so many times, and I can’t help her. She won’t let me, because she loves him. I do think he cares about her, but he…he’s just so rough. I don’t think he truly knows how fragile she is. I wish there was a way to show him.”

Without warning, her thoughts turn to Laito, and she flinches hard at the thought of what he meant by love not being real. Ayato didn’t think that way, did he? She closes her eyes, and her fingers find the top corner of the page. She lightly drags her fingers along the edge, causing it to lightly flutter. She forces her eyes open, but she doesn’t dare look up at him. The silence is clearly his way of urging her to keep talking. Her gaze finds some sort of painted medieval image. She swallows hard and says. “I don’t like him, though. He’s not the best guy, but she does. That’s what matters, right? Her happiness?”

Mai can barely contain the scoff threatening to bubble out of her throat. She takes a deep breath in an effort to keep it contained and finds herself glaring down at the painting. Her emotions suddenly seem all over the place, and she finds herself gripping the edge of the book once more. “They’re all cruel, cruel freaks of nature. I hate them all!”

Her voice comes out as a hiss. The painting swims before her eyes, but she makes no effort to wipe the tears away. “I hate being here. I just want to run away, but I can’t. I mean… They’ll find me, and my parents will be the ones to suffer, so I can’t run away. I’m trapped with…..with those…. Sadists! I just want…. Oh… I don’t know what I want anymore! Yui is turning, and I can’t figure out a way to stop it! She’ll be gone soon. She’ll be like them, and I don’t want that! I just...want my friend to be safe. What if she starts acting like them? What if she becomes horrible?”

The tears were slowly running down her face now. The thought of losing one of her only friends terrified her, but it’s worse to think that said friend will become something inhuman and cruel. She jumps when a soft, but deep, voice cuts through her misery. “You know Yui isn’t like that. She’s a sweet, kind hearted girl, who thinks highly of you. Love is a hard thing to swallow you know, and she is still a teenager. Her feelings are probably just feelings of infatuation instead of love.”

He lets out a nervous laugh and says. “You know….hormones and all. That’s probably what’s wrong with her. She isn’t going to change much.”

Mai’s body suddenly feels incredibly heavy. She knew that nothing she said made any sense, but it was still painful to realize that he was dismissing her concerns. Her eyes close, and her body starts to shake. It’s starting to feel like everything that could go wrong was.

Unfortunately, she thought that too soon. A cold arm wraps around her from the side, and a chin comes to rest on her shoulder. Her entire body tenses up, and she finds herself silently praying that it’s Kou. A cold cheek brushes hers, and she closes her eyes tightly so she doesn’t have to see who it is. The worst imaginable voice echoes through her ears.

“Ah, you aren’t going to get anywhere if you make her cry. A true gentleman won’t make a girl cry.” It’s clear by his tone that he’s teasing Shiro, and she wants nothing more than to jerk away from him. Unfortunately, her body betrays her by remaining rigidly in place. She is vaguely aware that Shiro is responding to Laito, but all she can hear is her heart pounding in her chest. Laito’s body presses closer to hers, and he releases a soft chuckle that brushes her face. The tear track feel like they are turning to ice, and she finally is able to lean away from him. Her eyes open and slowly lift to find a dark look clouding Shiro’s face.

“You’re interrupting us,” Shiro states coldly. In fact, his tone is so chilly that it sent a chill down Mai’s spine. “We’re trying to get school work done.”

Laito’s hand starts to rub her shoulder in a seemingly comforting motion, but it does little to ease her tension. In fact, it only serves to make her even more tense. Laito lets out a chuckle and pulls his face away from Mai’s. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees him looking down at the book in her lap. His eyes slowly lift to look at the side of her face, and she feels like the room has gone deathly cold. He clearly has a taunting look on his face, as if he knows something she doesn’t . Her heart sinks to the pit of her stomach. Is something wrong with Yui? 

She clears her throat and abruptly stands up. Thankfully, Laito lets his hands slide away from her body. She takes a quick side step to attempt to get out of his reach. To her absolute horror, her shoulder collides with a solid chest. She twists to find out who she bumped into. Her horror mounts when her gaze meets a frustrated blue one. She scoots back a little, but she stops when her calf bumps the table. A clatter behind her just makes her feel even more on edge, but she doesn’t dare take her eyes off Kou, since she can see Laito out of the corner of her eye. Kou lets out a scoff and drops his bag beside the last chair and flops into it. He leans back and lifts a leg to drape over the arm. He gives them bored look before a playful grin spreads over his face when his eyes land on Laito. “Shall we start? I got work in an hour.”

Mai flinches at the sound of his voice. He sounds much too cheerful for the current situation. Reluctantly, she turns back to her chair, only to find it now occupied with a smiling redhead. He playfully pats his thigh, but she decides to give him a look of disgust and carefully scoots around the table. She flops herself onto the floor between Shiro and Kou with an overwhelming sense of defeat. She feels so tired at this point that she doesn’t even feel like working on any school work. Silence invades the circle before Shiro finally breaks it by filling Kou in on what they have already finished.

_____________________________________________________________________________

She desperately wishes that she could feel happy that she’s finally off school grounds, but her problem hasn’t gone away. Due to Laito’s interference, the group ended up taking longer than needed to finish the project, but they were finally done. Kou had simply disappeared from sight when Shiro had left to put the borrowed books back. Shiro walked with Mai for a few blocks, while Laito lurked behind the two of them. Once his street came up, Shiro offered to walk her home, but she waved him off. The sun was peeking over the horizon, and the streets were starting to buzz with activity. She could easily stick to crowded streets, besides the last thing she wants to do is expose him to Laito more than needed.

She increases her pace, but she knows it won’t help. Finally, her nerves have had enough, so she spins to face him. All of her anger reaches its’ boiling point. Without giving herself a chance to second guess herself, she snaps. “What is wrong with you?”

He is a lot closer than she expected him to be. In fact, his body is only inches from hers. He leans closer to her face, but she stubbornly stays still. His chuckle brushes over her face, and a shudder runs down when he starts talking, since his voice is low and husky. “I haven’t got to see you very much lately because of my punishment and your new friend.”

She gives him a look of disgust, but it feels like her heart is grinding to a halt. Shiro is now on Laito’s radar, and she knew it isn’t a good thing. Her hands slam into his chest, and she shoves hard. To her surprise, he stumbles back a couple of steps, but she has a feeling he’s doing it to mock her. That only makes her anger spike even more. She clenches her fists and glares at him. “You don’t care! You...you….”

To her utter frustration, the pitch of her voice becomes higher, and tears invade her vision. Without any sort of warning, everything spills out in one go. “Without regard, you...you… You don’t listen! I didn’t want to sleep with you! What is wrong with you?! Don’t you understand the word no?”

He scoffs playfully. The sound of his voice only makes things worse. He takes a threatening step toward her. “Don’t even try to deny that you enjoyed it.”

Bile rises in her throat, and her stomach gives a painful twist. She did not enjoy what he did to her. She stubbornly keeps repeating that. After only the third or fourth time, an idea emerges. Without any sort of hesitation, she takes a step toward him. His playful grin only grows a little wider at the action. Her voice is louder than she intends it to be when she finally manages to says. “Your uncle came to see me in the hospital. He told me something about you that is absolutely disgusting.”

The smile starts to fade. A sense of achievement starts to swell through her body, despite the warning bells going off in her head. She leans even closer to him. Her chest lightly touches his, and she raises her voice even more. “I heard that you screwed your own mother. You’re absolutely disgusting. Who would enjoy anything you did to them?”

A dark look passes over Laito’s face, and a thrill of fear races down her spine. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices a couple of people slow to look at them. To her absolute surprise, a smirk begins to spread over his face. Every warning bell starts to go wild, and she attempts to jerk back. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get far before his hand appears in her hair, and her face is pressed forward. To her absolute disgust, Laito’s mouth easily finds hers. Pain erupts through her scalp when his nails sink into the skin of her scalp. She closes her eyes and pushes her hands against his chest, but he simply wraps an arm around her waist. His sharp teeth brush the soft skin just inside her lip, as if he were silently warning her to be silent.

To make matters worse, she can hear the bystanders she was trying use to embarrass Laito talking around her.

“Didn’t their parents teach them any better than to do that in public?”

“Ah, isn’t young love just so adorable?”

“Must have been a lover’s spat.”

Her eyes slam shut, and she continues to shove him as hard as she can. Much to her relief, he releases her after only a couple of minutes, but she doesn’t get much time to be grateful. He gives a flirtatious smirk to those around them, and his hand intertwines with hers. He gives her a rough tug while she tries to shake him off, but he easily drags her toward a secluded alley. As a last ditch effort to stop, she leans back and literally digs her heels in. The world spins, and everything gets worse. Before she has a get her bearings, her body is spun to face Laito. She can hear water lapping behind her, but she doesn’t get a chance to even give it much thought. He releases her hand and reaches up to put a hand on her left breast. A rough shove sends her stumbling backwards. She makes it a couple of steps before the ground disappears out from beneath her, and her body pitches backwards. Warm water hits in her back, only to close over her head seconds later. She twists her body around and kicks toward the surface, but her bookbag only serves to make her struggle harder. Still, she’s able to break the surface. Thankfully, she isn’t far from the edge of the pool, so she is able to reach up and grab the edge. She pulls the upper part of her body out of the water, but she pauses when legs appear before her. She grits her teeth and slowly looks up the body to find a dark look on Laito’s face. He isn’t glaring at her, but the smile on his face is clearly dangerous. He slowly squats in front of her, and her entire body tenses. Her eyes narrow a little, and her breath catches in her throat. Fear coils in her gut, and it only gets worse when he starts talking in a low, threatening tone. “So, dear Uncle Ritcher talked to you while you were having a psychotic break, huh? Isn’t that so nice of him?”

She just glares at him, which only makes the dark smile grow. His takes on a mocking edge when he asks. “Do you really think you saw him?”

Mai grits her teeth, but she stubbornly refuses to say anything. Laito lets out an eerie chuckle that echoes around the pool room. His eyes narrow a little and reaches out to run his fingers along the side of her face. She lifts a hand and swats it away. He releases a soft chuckle and says. “Fine. You want to know if what you think you know is right?”

She suddenly realizes that she doesn’t want to know and starts to shake her head, but she knows that it’s already too late by the cold smile on his face. Her breathing starts to increase, and her heart races so fast that a dull pain starts to race through her body. Before she can even blink, his lips are near her ear. His voice is barely audible, but it’s enough to make everything in her body go numb. “I did. See, she taught me the real meaning of love. She taught me that there is no such thing. You stupid humans made up that foolish notion in an effort to cover up your lustful desires. Why can’t you be more honest with yourselves? Are you all afraid of some sort of divine punishment? If you are, don’t hold your breath. It’ll never happen.”

She opens her mouth to say something, but his hand appears on the top of her head. Before she even gets the chance to react, he effortlessly shoves her head down. Her forehead scrapes along the concrete lining, as does her arms. Water closes over her head before she can get a good breath. Panic races through every part of her body. The only thing that keeps her from thrashing wildly is the fact that her hands had somehow managed to catch the side. Unfortunately, she is in the deeper end of the pool, so her feet couldn’t touch the bottom. To make matters worse, he doesn’t bother to submerge her entire head. The very top of her head stills pokes up out the water, making this sensation even worse. She was so close to the surface, but she couldn’t breathe. She struggles to pull herself back up, but Laito continues to hold her under. Her lungs start to burn with the desire to breathe, and her thoughts turn to escaping by kicking off the wall and swimming toward the center of the pool. Just as her feet touch the wall, his hand disappears, and she’s able to drag herself upwards. The second her head breaks the surface, she begins to suck in greedy breathes in an effort to ease the burning in her lungs. She looks up expecting to find him gone, but he’s still crouching in front of her with that terrifying smile on his face. She opens her mouth to say something, but he cuts her off by coldly saying. “You know, you say I’m disgusting, and no one would enjoy what I have to offer. Perhaps you’re right.”

A thoughtful look spreads over his face. Mai slowly tries to scoot away from him, but his hand lashes out to grab a fist full of her hair. He pulls her head up, making her arch awkwardly out of the water. The book bag pulls at her body, and she tells herself to get rid of it. She attempts to distract him from her actions by giving him a cold, defiant look. He lets out yet another chuckle, and goosebumps form all over her body. She awkwardly moves to rest one elbow on the concrete and moves the fingers toward the strap crossing her body. Once she hooks it, he cheerfully says, “You know, I think people would react much like you have. They would be so revolted because I gave into that woman’s primal desire.”

“Because it’s not normal,” Mai mutters softly. Laito lets out a scoff and rolls his eyes playfully before they land back on her. He gives her a playful smile and leans in to mutter.

“Then that means you’re tarnished, too.” Her entire body stiffens, and she gives a small shake of her head. Unfortunately, he gives her hair a sharp tug. Pain makes tears spring to her eyes. He clicks his tongue and leans close to her once more. She closes her eyes tightly, but it does nothing to stop the feeling of his cold tongue, which starts at her jaw and moves up her cheek only to disappear. It starts again not even a second later back at her jaw. He proceeds to lick her a few more times before whispering seductively in her ear. “You know you liked it. You don’t have to pretend here. It’s only us.”

“I don’t like you,” Mai gasps out. To her surprise, she feels him move away from her. She slowly opens one eye to find a curious look on his face. The moment her eye meets his, he gives her a playful grin. Dread fills her entire body, and she attempts to shove herself away from him, despite the fact that he has a fist full of her hair. Unfortunately, he shoves her head forward, and it collides with the concrete in front of her enough to hurt but not break skin or even bruise.

“You aren’t a very good liar. I know you love me. Besides, who else will want you?” Without warning, she feels a sting near the top of her earlobe. To her horror, she realizes that Laito had just bitten her, and she is sure that it’s enough to draw blood.

“I didn’t do it willingly,” she argues. Unfortunately, her voice comes out as a weak whisper.

“Oh, sweet, naive Mai. You know you were more than willing. Did you really not enjoy it?” She desperately wants to find anger at the mocking way he’s talking to her, but she can only feel more dread. A sickening feeling starts to settle in the pit of her stomach. Something very bad is going to happen, and she has a good idea what it could be. There is no way she should try to escape into the middle of the pool. He will just swim after her. She decides to try her luck at pulling herself out of the water, but Laito’s next words halt her. “Are you going somewhere? Thinking of running to that silly little human boy? He can’t help you. After all, he’s no match for a vampire. Who does that leave? Subaru? You know he’s mad at you. He’ll probably kill you given the chance. Hmmm. Perhaps Shuu?”

Laito releases a mocking laugh. ”Sweetheart, you know he won’t lift a finger to help you. It’s just not in his nature.”

Her blood runs cold. She never once thought of running to any them. After all, she knew it wouldn’t do any good. Her eyes lift to meet his, and she decides to act on impulse. Her words and tone soften to make it sound like she’s talking to a baby. “Ahhh, is someone jealous?”

Laito silently stares at her for a moment before a genuine sounding laugh erupts from him. Confusion fills her chest, but she doesn’t get a chance to say anything before his laughter abruptly dies. His eyes meet hers, and a chill runs down her spine. In a dark, deep voice, he says. “Sweetheart, I’d have to have something of value to be jealous of. In case you forgot, you are nothing but a plaything. Besides, what competition do I have?”

She opens her mouth to retort, but a smile spread over his face. Unfortunately, this one is even darker than the previous one. His words echo hauntingly in her head when he says. “It’s times for your punishment.”

“What?” Mai stupidly asks. She already knew the answer. He lets out a chuckle and leans down to mutter.

“Well, your stupid outburst got me in trouble. Besides, the look of terror is simply too arousing to pass up. Keep showing it to me, and I promise you’ll get a reward later.”

Her eyes widen, and she immediately kicks off the wall. Unfortunately, he chooses that moment to shove her head forward. She had opened her mouth a little to ask him not to shove her under the water, so she’s even less prepared than last time. A little bit of water rushes into her mouth, but she is shut her mouth and swallow it before she can truly panic. She still feels like she’s drowning, though, since she doesn’t have any air in her lungs at all. To her horror, he pushes her further underwater than last time, since her hands had slipped off the edge at some point. She claws at the side in an effort to reach the edge, but she isn’t able to find it. The panic starts to make her lungs burn. Her eyes squeeze shut and shifts her focus on an effort to claw at Laito’s hand. Panic continues to push out every rational thought until all that is left is the urge to breath. It feels like an eternity had passed, and she isn’t sure she can continue holding her breath. Her heart sinks, and her movements begin to slow.

Is she seriously going to die?

She’s not sure why, but she opens her mouth. Water rushes in and down her throat. A heavy feeling fills her lungs, but her consciousness is already starting to slip away. Her fingers begin to feel numb, and her thoughts go blank. Even the panic starts to dull. She knew she should be alarmed by everything that is happening to her, but she finds she can’t even muster the strength anymore.

Her body shifts, and she’s vaguely aware that she is laying on her side on something hard. Her eyes refuse to open, and she can hear a voice talking to her in a comforting tone while something lightly touches her back in an odd pattern. Her brain doesn’t even bother trying to make sense of what is being said to her. In fact, she can’t even recognize to voice as being anything but a male. After a moment, liquid rushes up her throat, and everything comes into sharp focus. She’s laying on her left side and viciously vomiting a mixture of water and bile. She’s uncomfortably aware of the fact that the taste of chlorine and bile make a disgusting combination. She feels a hand rubbing soothing circles in her back and slowly opens her eyes when she feels her head being moved around. It ends up resting in something soft that smells incredibly good. She knew what it is, but she doesn’t want to think about it at the moment. Suddenly, fingers begin to work their way through the knots in her wet hair. Her eyes drift closed at the wonderful sensation. She tries to work her thoughts into a comprehensive train of thought, but the sting in her throat and lungs makes it difficult to think about much else. Her lungs still felt like something was caught in them. That simple thought is enough to bring her back to the present. Her eyes snap open, and she abruptly pushes her body into a sitting position. She turns a cold glare onto the only other person in the room. He gives her a loving smile that sends anger to the pit of her stomach. She swallows hard, which causes her to flinch.

Suddenly, his fingers reach out and start to lovinging stroke her cheek. She wants to flinch away, but she finds that her body still felt heavy. The best she can manage is a cold stare while sitting upright. He leans close enough to press his cold forehead against hers. She attempts to lean away from him, but he reaches up to place a hand on the back of her neck, effectively halting her movement. He releases a chuckle and mutters. “Sweetheart, don’t project your feelings onto me.”

She grits her teeth and weakly snarls. “What the hell are you talking about now?”

His eerie green eyes bore into hers from only centimeters away. Being this close, she can see an array of emotions in his eyes. Unease fills the pit of her stomach. She’s sure that she can see many conflicting emotions there such as: amusement, excitement, pain, and sadness. Before she gets a chance to dwell on it, his voice interrupts. “I know you heard me and that girl at school. You aren’t exactly discreet.”

Disgust fills her stomach, and all traces of pity disappears from her mind. She manages to sneer at him, “If you heard me, why didn’t you stop?”

“Where is the fun in that? It’s always so much better to be watched!” He lets out a chuckle and leans away from her when her disgust appears on her face. Thankfully, he releases her as well, so she is able to scoot away from him. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get far since her muscles still feel weak. She carefully keeps her eye on him. A confident smirk adorns his face, and he tilts his head to the side a little before saying in a playfully teasing voice. “Come on. You can’t deny that the thought of me being with someone else didn’t send a bit of jealousy to the pit of your stomach. Your favorite toy being used by another.”

A look of mock realization spreads over his face. He snaps his fingers and leans forward with a chilling smirk. “Let me guess! It did the opposite. If you were turned on, you could have joined us! I wouldn’t have minded! I don’t think she would have either.”

Disgust fills every corner of her being. She watches in absolute horror when he gets onto his hands and knees before starting to slowly crawl toward her. She scoots her body away as fast as she can, though she’s careful to scoot away from the pool. Her voice comes out more fearful than she meant for it to. “W-what the h-hell are you talking about?! W-who would be...be….be into that….that kind of thing?!”

He releases a chuckle. Unfortunately, he has already closed in on her. Her body freezes, and his hands plant themselves on either side of her hips. His face looms dangerously close to hers. Yet again, she finds herself feeling frustratingly helpless while facing him. His words brush over her face in a cold rush of air when he says. “Ah, that’s right. I was your first. You don’t know the joys of watching your lover with another.”

“You’re not…. I don’t….” She has no idea what she is trying to say. He gives her mocking look of pity.

“Now, now. Threesomes are the best,” he whispers in a husky voice. “It’s so much fun to watch your partner being ravished by another.”

His body gives a shudder, making bile rise in her throat again. His eyes close, and he releases a soft moan. Only seconds later, his eyes snap open and a look of excitement spreads over his face. He’s on his feet in seconds, and she’s dragged along with him. He lets out a soft groan and leans in to press his lips to hers. Before she has a chance to react, he leans away again. Only seconds later, her feet disappear from below her, and she finds herself resting in his arms in a princess style carry. Her mind faintly notices that the weight of her bookbag is gone, but it quickly returns to more important matters. The look of excitement on Laito’s face did not bode well for her. She immediately begins to struggle, but her efforts are halted when she hears his words.

“You need to experience it all first hand.”

Her heart stops, sinks, then begins to race wildly in the span of a few seconds. She didn’t like the sound of that. Who is he planning on dragging her to? An image of Kanato springs into her mind. If Laito’s disturbing enough to sleep with his own mother, she’s positive that sharing someone with his brother would be nothing. The thought made her stomach twist uncomfortably. A shudder runs down her spin, and she doubles her fist and swings it at his face. Unfortunately, that’s when the world spins.

To her absolute surprise and gratification, her fist collides hard with his nose. He lets out a loud sound of pain and drops her. To her relief, she lands on the edge of a bed. She’s not sure how, but she manages to roll her body further onto the bed instead of bouncing onto the floor. She quickly scrambles to her feet only to freeze when she realizes that she is in a hauntingly familiar room. Her heart starts to race as her eyes search every inch for the owner of the room. Thankfully, it seems like he’s out. Her returns to Laito, who’s still holding his nose. She fully expects him to look angry, but her fist seems to have had the opposite effect. A look of pure excitement is visible on his face. She takes an awkward step back, though she doesn’t know why. He is standing between her and the door. It still comes as a strange type of comfort to be able to do something. Before she gets another step in, Laito disappears from her view. His cold arms wrap around her waist from behind. She tries to flinch away, but he pulls her back into his body. He releases a soft chuckle into her ear and says in a husky voice. “You still owe me a couple of bites. I’m absolutely starving.”

Mai’s entire body stiffens for a moment before she resumes struggling. His breath cools the skin of her neck, causing her to shiver. She stubbornly shakes her head. “No. I bet you drank from that girl earlier, so you don’t need my blood.”

His tongue runs slowly up her neck, causing a shudder to run through her body. A sense of awkwardness begins to spread, and she shifts a little. She flinches when her movement causes her body to brush his. He releases a loud moan in her ear. She closes her eyes tightly and says in a barely audible voice. “Fine. Fine. I did promise that you could drink my blood, but I’m sure this is the last time. I’ll continue struggling.”

She closes her eyes tightly and takes a steadying breath. “I just….have a request. Can we….not….”

Embarrassment causes her to choke on her words. She clears her throat a little and forces out the words before he has a chance to interrupt her. “Can we just go to your room?”

He makes an amused sound in the back of her throat, causing her to flinch. His voice just furthers her embarrassment. “Why?”

She lets out a soft growl, but she manages to ask. “I just don’t feel comfortable here. It’s… embarrassing. I don’t want Shuu to walk in.”

He releases a chuckle, and his teeth graze her skin once more. She puts as much warning into her voice as she can. “Laito, I don’t want you to bite me here.”

His words send a pang of dread through her entire body. “Isn’t the threat of being caught so much fun? Besides, you haven’t gotten to enjoy the feeling of having multiple partners yet, or even observed while you are in the throes of pleasure. I thought you liked Shuu.”

“I don’t like any of you!” She snarls. He lets out a playful scoff and mutters huskily into her ear.

“Lair.”

She opens her mouth to protest, but nothing comes out. His teeth has already sunk into the joint that connects her shoulder to her neck. She fully expects to feel pain, but there isn’t any.

The only thing present is mind numbing pleasure, which causes her legs to suddenly feel weak. Only seconds later, her body relaxes back into Laito, who eases her down into the middle of Shuu’s bed. She is vaguely aware of the silent wish that Shuu decided to sleep on the couch, since it’s already getting late in the morning. She closes her eyes the moment she settles into Laito’s lap. She hates that it’s feeling as good as it is. The minutes drag by into what feels like hours, but the feeling doesn’t ease up. Her arms start to feel like they are getting heavy, and she begins to feel sleepy, despite her wet clothes. Her head rolls back to rest on Laito’s shoulder, and she finds the darkness that is eating at the edges of her vision more and more inviting. How long has it been since she had restful sleep? Was the last time when Reiji drugged her?

Guess it wasn’t that long ago.

She’s vaguely aware that Laito’s whispering something into her ear, but her mind is too tired to really make out what he is saying. She easily gives into the darkness, and lets her body slip into the comforting darkness. If she is asleep, than she won’t have to face Shuu; should he find her and his brother sitting in the center of his bed. She won’t have to listen to Laito’s disturbing proposal, or even have to worry about Shuu’s answer.

The darkness of unconsciousness is a surprising friend that she didn’t realize she had.


	23. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it has taken me soI long to get this up! >.> I was binge watching shows on Netflix in my spare time. Sorry for the extra mistakes in this chapter! My laptop crashed a couple days ago, so I finished the weighing on my tablet, so I might have missed more than usual! Anyway, thank you for reading! Enjoy!

A feeling of indescribable pleasure flows through her body. The source of that pleasure is the sensation of the sun warming her exposed skin. A light, warm, pleasant wind brushes past her, causing her to release a sigh of contentment and close her eyes. She remains relaxed for who knows how long before the sun is suddenly blocked out. She slowly opens one eye to find out who the culprit is. Bright, excited, red eyes stare down at her. Blonde hair hangs loosely around her face. A matching smile is spread across her face when she says, “Mai, get up! Let’s go for a swim!”

That’s when all the noise around her seems to come alive. The sound of splashing, and children screaming and laughing. The sound of a whistle followed by instructions to stop running, but it’s drowned out by the grumbling of whomever was caught. Mai slowly pushes herself up to a sitting position. She releases a tired yawn and glances around to find herself at a public swimming pool. Lots of people milled about the edges of pool while many more were in the water. Off to the far side there was a separate pool for many different waterslides, and the wading pool is on the opposite side. It’s full of young children with supervising adults.

Confusion fills her body, and she finds herself looking up at Yui, who is currently putting the finishing touches on her sun screen. She glances at Mai, and a small smile spreads over her face. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Don’t tell me you’ve been having those silly dreams again!”

Mai finds herself completely unsure of what to say to that. Before long, Yui’s petite hand wraps around Mai’s wrist and pulls her up to her feet before dragging her toward the water. An unsettling feeling spreads through Mai’s stomach, and she opens her mouth to says, “Yui?”

It’s like her friend didn’t even hear her. She simply continues on about how Mai has been spacing out about some dream that she has been having. It was about some red haired boy that torments her in strange ways. Yui suddenly states with a chuckle. “You have such a wild imagination! Maybe you need to withdraw from the medieval history course you are taking and find a boyfriend! Then you wouldn’t have to dream about silly vampires! Perhaps you should lay off the horror movies before bed, too!”

This is a dream.

Mai knows it has to be, which makes everything feel like a punch to her stomach. They have been walking forever and haven’t reached the water yet. They were only about five feet away when they started, but Mai’s legs have now grown tired. She glances around herself, fully taking everything in. Is this what a normal life looks like? Is this what she wants?

Her gaze turns up to the sky. The feeling of the sun on her skin feels so real that it’s hard to ignore. With a pang deep in her gut, she realizes that she misses the sun a lot more than she realized. She didn’t think it would matter since she is still a teenager, but she misses the sun. In fact, it’s all she can think about now. Before she realizes it, she’s standing at the water’s edge beside Yui. Maybe it just felt like they had been walking forever. She wants so badly to believe that, but she has a nagging feeling deep down inside that this is nothing more than a dream. Yui glances over at her and gives Mai a pleasant smile. “Ready?”

Mai opens her mouth, but no words come out. Instead, all she manages is a soft squeaking sound. The skin of Yui’s face is slowly becoming discolored. Blue forms around her smiling mouth, which served to make Mai feel incredibly sick to her stomach. The blue slowly creeps outward. The whole sight is made worse by the fact that Yui’s mouth is moving, but no sound is coming out. Chills race throughout Mai’s body. It looks almost like the blonde is choking. Mai wants nothing more than to lift her hand and reach out to touch her friend, but her hands won’t move. In fact, her whole body has begun to feel so heavy that she isn’t sure she is even breathing anymore. The bright light from the sun seems to wash over everything, causing Mai’s eyes to sting. She blinks rapidly and tries to tear her gaze away from her friend. Unfortunately, she’s not able to. Instead, all the colors start to swirl, twist, and wiggle together behind Yui, like some kind of bad trip.

The only thing that doesn’t seem to move with a mind of it’s own is the image of Yui, whose face is now a sickening gray color with blue lips. A white sheen covers her eyes, but she is still smiling happily at Mai. Bile starts to rise up Mai’s throat, but she still can’t move. The bile starts to feel like it’s suffocating her. Tears spring forth, and she fights with all her might to move, but it’s useless. She decides to try a different approach.

This isn’t reality!

It doesn’t matter how many times she tells herself this, it doesn’t change what she she is seeing. She opens her mouth to say something, anything, but her tongue won’t move. It felt like a heavy, dry piece of wood in her mouth. In fact, her mouth and throat felt like they were full of dirt.

“Don’t you want to go for a swim, Mai?” Yui’s voice reaches her ears, but it didn’t match the movements of her friend’s mouth. In addition to that, the words are spoken in such a fashion that it seems like someone has slowed time down to slowest possible speed, effectively mutating Yui’s voice. “The water is great, I hear.”

With no warning at all, Yui’s arms wrap around Mai, and she throws her weight toward the pool. Even if Mai wanted to, she doesn’t think she can resist. She’s already off balance and stunned. Mai just closes her eyes and fully expects the water to be freezing cold, like the arms that are holding her.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The water is warm and slides along her exposed flesh like velvet. Before she realizes it, the water closes over her head, but she finds herself oddly at peace about it. All the the tense leaves her body, causing her to feel completely relaxed. This is just a dream after all. It’s not like she’ll actually drown.

None of what she sees is real. Yui isn’t dying or dead. She’s simply sleeping in her room, likely beside Ayato.

“Are you sure she’s not dead?” A calm, deep voice asks in her ear. She lets out a startled sound. Unfortunately, that action ends up with water rushing into her mouth and up nose, which is followed by bubbles. She attempts to thrash around only to find that her lungs aren’t full of water. She isn’t drowning. In fact, she is no longer submerged in water. Instead, she’s standing in the middle of a dull light. Her eyes flick around her surroundings, but it’s no use. Only a foot away, the dull light gave way to an almost tangible darkness. Her heart leaps into her throat, and panic starts to fill her mind. Even if this is a dream, the thought of being enclosed overwhelms her. Against her better judgement, she reaches out to the darkness.

When her fingers brush the darkness, it feels as if she were being electrified. Shock races up her arm and causes her heart to skip a beat, leaving a trail of mild numbness behind. Her heart starts to race, and she instinctively jerks her hand back and presses it against her chest. Full panic sets in.

Isn’t she supposed to wake up before being hurt in a dream? Or is that just in the movies? No, maybe it’s more along the lines that she’s suppose to wake up before dying, but that already happened when she was drug into the water. Besides, the pain felt so real, and the lingering numbness feels real as well. She flinches and spins around when she hears a voice behind her, but she can’t quite catch what is being said. A second voice responses to the first, but, once again, she isn’t able to understand a single word.

The clicking of a tongue sends a shiver down her spine. She spins around looking for the source of the sound, but all she can see is complete darkness. Is the dull circle of light getting smaller, or is it just her imagination? Every fine hair stands on end, and her breathing starts to pick up. She desperately tries to tell herself that nothing is wrong with her, so she doesn’t need to be so afraid.

Once again, she tries to tell herself it’s just a dream, but the sting in her fingertips causes her to doubt her own mind. Tears well up, and her lips start to tingle. She stops spinning and squats down. Her fingers delve into her hair, and she tugs roughly at the roots. Pain prickles at her scalp. A soft sob leaves her lips. Why isn’t she waking up? Her chest starts to heave so hard that her lungs start to burn. This is worse than Laito trying to drown her. She figures she’s beginning to hyperventilate, which is seconded by the fact that she’s quickly becoming light headed. Why of all things did it have to be an enclosure? Something about tight spaces just made her panic. She’d take Laito feeding off her over being restricted in such a way. She covers her face with her hands and lets out a sob that is louder than intended. It eerily echoes back at her through the darkness so many times that it becomes warped and sounds like many different women crying.

Two cold arms wrap around her from behind. A weight presses on her back, and a puff of cold air brushes the skin on the back of her neck, though she isn’t quite sure how it got through her hair. The cold air feels like it’s biting at her skin, and she immediately tries to jerk away. Unfortunately, the arms don’t release her, and she’s too afraid to drop her hands from her face to look back. A chuckle echos in her ear, and she tenses. Unfortunately, that’s all she can do now. Her body is starting to feel heavy once again, and she can feel a cold numbness invading every part of her body. Between her fingers, she can see a hazy bit of her own skin, as if it were being viewed through something like a blanket. Her heart stops when the chuckling voice says in a soft feminine sounding coo. “Poor little thing, you are caught in their trap like a rabbit. Did you know they can hear your heartbeat?”

Mai makes a strange gurgling sound when she tries to answer. Her tongue stubbornly refuses to move. She hears a soft, male voice saying something, but she can’t make out his words. It is almost like he is on the other side of a tunnel. The weight leans on her even more, and the feeling of being suffocated takes over.

Unfortunately, all she can do is silently scream inside her own head. Her body is completely numb at this point. She couldn’t feel her own breath against her hands. In fact, the only thing that she can feel is the freezing cold arms around her waist. The voice lets out another coo, as if shushing a baby. “They’ll hear you?”

“‘W….h….o?” Her voice echoes once again, but she’s able to somehow form the words. A soft laugh in her ear sends a feeling of pins and needles through the numbness in her body. Thankfully, the sensation disappears quickly. The cold arms start to tighten, and the voice answers playfully.

“My name is not important. What is important is that silly dream you had. Do you truly think you will live in that world, little rabbit?” The voice pauses for a moment, as if waiting for an answer, but Mai’s tongue feels heavy again. Her head starts to feel funny, almost drowsy. The colors were starting to slowly brighten around her. That’s when she notices that the voice is getting quieter the brighter the colors get. She isn’t sure if she should feel relieved or more terrified. Something dangerous is waiting for her on the opposite side of those colors, and she knew that she won’t like it. “Do you truly believe that Yui’s alive?”

That caught her attention for only a moment, but her thoughts turn back to the colors. She could see a vague shape now, but she didn’t know what the black, hazy blob is. She decides that anything in the bright world is better than the oppressive darkness. Her hands drop from her face, and she tries to lean towards it. Unfortunately, it feels like she is moving in slow motion. The voice steadily grows quieter. “You have noticed, haven’t you? The transformation on Yui has started. Too bad you can’t hear inside her chest. Her heart is slowing. She’s dying to become like the one she loves. How ironic!”

She tries to keep from listening, but cold lips brush her ear. The voice continues in a muffled tone. “You know that you are about to be alone in this world, right?”

Mai’s mouth opens and closes, but she isn’t able to make any sort of sound. She isn’t alone. She has Shiro and her parents. Besides, it doesn’t matter if Yui changes into a vampire! Mai will always consider her to be a friend.

A feeling of warmth slowly creeps up her fingers. The bright colors suddenly engulf her, blinding her for a moment. She blinks rapidly and shifts her body. Her muscles react with a dull throb, causing her to gasp softly. She forces her tender body to relax and simply opens her eyes. Unfortunately, the light burns her eyes, causing her to blink rapidly. Still, she immediately notices a couple of things. The first ones being that she is laying on her side with a cold arm wrapped loosely around her waist. Her body still feels incredibly heavy, and she has an uncomfortable numbness racing through her body. Due to her rapid blinking, she isn’t able to immediately identify where she is.

The positive part is the place she is lying smells amazing. She can’t quite identify why, but she finds her tense muscles relaxing just from the comforting scent. Finally, her eyes adjust, and her muscles retense. Lying not far from her is a very familiar blonde. Thankfully, the bed is large enough that she isn’t within arms reach, but it doesn’t change the fact that everything before hand comes rushing to the front of her mind. She abruptly sits up, only to hear a groan from her behind her. She immediately scoots away to find herself glaring down at Laito, who looks almost innocently peaceful. Her heart has now leapt so far up her throat that she’s sure she’s about to choke on it. She carefully removes his arm from her body. 

Her heart stops when the bed shifts, and her gaze snaps to stare at the blonde. It doesn’t come as any sort of comfort to find that he has shifted from his side to his back. One of his eyes is open, and he is giving her a tired look. She feels her breath catch in her throat and finds that she is scooting closer to Laito. She can’t get Laito’s words about sharing her with Shuu out of her mind. What if he told his older brother that, and the blonde took him up on the offer? Who know how long she had been unconscious for.

After a moment of thinking it over, she almost scoffs. She is just paranoid from the nightmare that she just had. There is no way that Shuu would even attempt to attack her while she was asleep. From her experience, she figured he wouldn’t want to deal with the trouble of her possibly waking up and proceeding to struggle. A quick once over confirms her suspicions. It doesn’t appear like she has any new bites. Her gaze focuses back on Shuu, and an awkward silence fills the space between the two of them. Ironically, a strange groan from Laito is what ends the silence. A sigh leaves Shuu’s lips only moments later. His eye slowly slides open to look at Mai. Before he can saying, she quickly asks, “You guys, didn’t…… Um….. You know?”

She is beginning to doubt her earlier theory. Dread fills her entire being, and she finds that she isn’t sure that she wants to know the answer, but she needed to. Another glance down tells her that her clothes weren’t changed, but they were ruffled. Unfortunately, she can’t tell if it is due to going to sleep with wet clothes or not. Her eyes lift to lock with a single blue one. Just as her patience wears thin, he tiredly says, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Frustration builds in the pit of her stomach. She jumps when she feels Laito move against her side. Her gaze quickly snaps in his direction, only to find that he still seems to be asleep. He had been adjusting in his sleep, so he’s now lying on his side with his back facing her. She turns back to Shuu only to find his eye closed again. She frowns at him. “Shuu?”

The seconds tick by in an agonizingly slow manner. She softly says his name a few times before she gives up. It seems like he has fallen asleep once again, which earns an eye roll from her. She glances down at herself and disgust fills her body. She carefully scoots down the bed. She is in desperate need of a shower, and she wants to go home. Bile rises in her throat. Had Laito followed through like last time, despite her not being conscious? It seemed like something he would do. She quickly shoves the disturbing thoughts away. It won’t do to make herself sick thinking about it. Her bare feet touch the floor, and she slowly pushes herself upright. 

A wave of nausea inducing dizziness threatens to overwhelm her, so she finds herself sitting on the bed once more. She jumps when she hears a chuckle from behind her and glances over her shoulder to give Shuu a cold glare. Unfortunately, his eyes are still closed, but he has a small smile spread over his face. While she watches, one of his arms lifts to cover his face. His already quiet voice is almost impossible to hear now when he says, “If you are leaving, take that with you. He makes too much noise.”

Her eyes narrow, and she spares a glance at Laito, who is muttering something under his breath. A shudder runs down her spine, and she gives a small shake of her head before turning her head back at Shuu. She rolls to sit on her knees at the foot of his bed. “Can I ask you something?”

He doesn’t say anything, so she takes that as the go ahead to start talking. She has so much that she wants to ask him, but she knew that he won’t even answer half of them. She has to pick the most important pieces first. After all, she doesn’t know how many she will be able to ask before he goes back to sleep. The first one she can think of is the most obvious one. She quickly blurts out once more. “You two didn’t….do anything weird…..to me while I was out, did you?”

Shuu scoffs softly. Silence settles over them once again, and she is starting to think her worst fears are going to come true. Just as she gives up hope of getting a concrete answer, he mutters a soft. “We didn’t have sex with you, if that is what you are asking.”

Her face flushes a deep red color, and her gaze drops to her lap. An overwhelming sense of relief floods her body, but she feels just as much embarrassment by the blunt way he said it. She forces herself to lift her gaze back to his face, only to find that he has rolled onto his side. She watches him for a couple of seconds before she lets out a sigh. For a brief moment, she considers asking him more questions, but she decides against it. She doesn’t even know where to start, and she doesn’t think that he will understand her babble of questions that stemmed from the nightmare she just had. Besides, the most important question has been answered. Her eyes drift back to Laito, and they narrow a little.

For a brief moment, she catches herself longing for the life in that dream, but she shoves the feeling aside. It wouldn’t help her here. While she watches Laito, she opens her mouth and softly calls Shuu’s name. It doesn’t come as a surprise that she doesn’t actually get an answer. She begins to call his name once more when her stomach chooses that moment to release a loud growling sound. With a flush, she carefully stands up and makes her way toward the door. She hears Shuu say something to her to her about Laito, but she doesn’t bother looking back. If he wants his little brother out of his bed, he can do it himself. A small smile spreads over her face, and she can’t resist the urge to cast a glance backward at them. Her eyes meet a set of irritated blue ones. She playfully sticks her tongue out at him then slips out. She closes the door as softly as she can and releases a sigh of relief.

She feels disgusting, and her clothes smell moldy. Her stomach growls once again, and she frowns. She needs a shower and some new clothes before she got sick, and she needs to get some food. Preferably some type of red meat, or other iron rich food. She leans back against Shuu’s door and glances up and down the hallway. An eerie feeling that she is being watched takes over, but she can’t find the cause. She decides to just shrug it off. A sinking feeling tugs at her heart at how casually she brushes the sensation off now. This whole situation is unusual, but all she can think about is a shower and food. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She’s not sure how long she stands against the door, but something surprising happens. A soft voice softly calls out Mai’s name. She slowly opens her eyes to find Yui standing directly in front of her, only something is off. It takes a moment of studying before Mai figures out what it is.

Yui’s eyes aren’t their usual warm, red color.

They are now a cold, green color.

Every warning bell goes off in her head, and she quickly scrambles upright and stares at her friend, who seems to be playing it off as if everything is normal. A feeling of worry floods Mai at the seemingly ‘normal’ worried look on her friend’s face. Yui hasn’t been showing emotion lately. In fact, she has nothing more than a pale zombie the last few day. It suddenly feels like someone’s hands are wrapped around Mai’s. The sensation effectively kills her voice and almost halts her air. Is this another sign that she is going crazy? A playfully, knowing look flashes through Yui’s green eyes before she tilts her head and blinks slowly. Once her eyes are open all the way, the red color is back. The playful look slips a little before dissolving completely into a confused look. Yui takes a couple of short, sharp breaths through her nose, as if she were sniffing the air. She slowly leans toward Mai. “Do you smell that?”

It takes everything Mai has to not flinch away. Embarrassment flickers in her stomach, and she reaches for that. It’s better than the guilty feeling of being suspicious of her own friend. Mai unconsciously wraps her arms around her stomach and says so softly that she’s not sure that Yui will hear her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t get a chance to change my clothes before I fell asleep, and Laito threw me in the pool.”

Yui flinches, making her feel even more ashamed of her state of clothing. Yui gives her a small, confused smile. “Did you sleep in Shuu’s room?”

Mai reluctantly nods. To her horror and surprise, Yui lets out a small chuckle. Mai’s eyes shift to look up. Green flashes through the red for a moment before they fade back to warm, red eyes. Yui reaches out and pats Mai on the shoulder. Her voice holds more encouragement than Mai has heard in days. “Why don’t you take a shower? I can get you some clothes.”

Mai doesn’t get a chance to ask Yui if she is ok, since the blonde turns and quickly makes her way down the hallway. Mai finds herself rooted to the spot, while watching her friend. Her thoughts continue to race with what she had just witnessed, but everything stops when she watches Yui pass her own door and disappear into a different one. Mai bites back a groan and quickly starts after her friend. She tries to ignore the stiff way her clothes move, but it’s starting to rub on her skin, making her feel even more disgusting. She arrives at the still open door and peers in. Her heart plummets to the bottom of her stomach when the very first thing she spots is an iron maiden that is clearly open. Despite not seeing any spikes on the door, it still sends a tendril of raw fear down her spine. Her mouth goes dry, and she feels every fine hair stand on end. She remembers hearing Ayato slept in one, but she thought it was a joke. With a sudden realization, she remembers something even worse. Yui had told her that Subaru slept in a coffin. Despite every effort, she finds a morbid sense of curiosity beginning to bubble up. Did Subaru really sleep in a coffin?

She hears a light thump and turns her attention toward a door that she assumes is the closet. Trying to keep her voice low, she hisses out. “Yui?”

She hears a squeak from the closet that she takes as an answer, so she continues in her soft voice. “What are you doing? I’m not wearing Ayato’s clothes!”

A blonde head pokes out of the closet, and she gives Mai a confused look. Her voice is normal when she says, “Well, of course not. He wouldn’t like that. I have some of my clothes in here for when he makes me to sleep in with him.”

Mai is unable to keep her gaze from turning back to the iron maiden. Did Yui seriously sleep in that thing with Ayato? How was there enough room for two people? Those thoughts sent a shudder down her spine, and she finds herself insanely grateful that Laito’s room is somewhat normal.

Her breathing stops, and her heart starts to race. Did she really just think that? Her hands grip the doorway tightly. Out of everything that she could have thought, why did it have to be that she is grateful Laito isn’t into sleeping in torture devices? He’s into much worse things. On a more concerning note, why is he the first thing she thought of?

Red fills her vision, and she blinks before jerking away. Yui tilts her head a little. “Are you ok?”

“Are you ok?” Mai counters with a harsher tone than she intended, but she doesn’t want to talk about herself. After all, she isn’t sure if she is alright, and she doesn’t really want to think too deeply on the mass of emotions roiling in the pit of her stomach at the moment. She faintly hears Yui mutter something, but she’s not able to focus on her friend’s words. Finally, she’s able to pull herself out of her thoughts when she hears Yui say her name for what seems like the third time in the span of only a few seconds. Once it becomes clear that Mai’s attention is once again focused on Yui, the blonde holds up some clothes and smiles at Mai. Mai takes them with a soft thank you and heads to the bathroom while trying not to let her mind wander. She forces her mind to focus on taking a shower. She hears Yui ask her to meet her in the kitchen when she is done and faintly agrees over her shoulder.

She just knew something is going to happen to her in the shower, but the only thing that happens is the wonderful feeling of getting clean. Surprisingly, nothing happens while she gets dressed in the shorts and loose shirt and brushes her hair. Even the walk to the kitchen is uneventful. The moment she steps into the kitchen, a sense of deja vu spreads over her. Yui is once again lively and even humming a song under her breath. Just as Mai allows herself to start relaxing, Yui behaves strangely. Yui whips around and sniffs the air similar to how a dog would. Mai freezes just out of arm’s reach and warily watches the girl. Yui’s eyes close slowly, and she softly asks, “Do you smell that?”

It takes a moment for Mai to realize that she should probably sniff the air, but all she can smell is normal cooking smells such as the chicken Yui is cooking. A wide variety of ingredients were spread along the kitchen counter in a disorganized mess. After an awkward moment of Yui sniffing the air while Mai shuffles awkwardly, she realizes that Yui plans to make pan fried chicken with mashed potatoes. From the looks of things, Yui also plans to make her own style of mixed vegetables. Mai carefully asks, “You mean the chicken?”

Yui shakes her head and closes her eyes. She takes a few deep breaths, as if she were really trying to get the smell down. “No. It’s like…Sweet like honey, but it’s…. It’s flowery, too.”

She inhales a couple more times, causing goosebumps to break out over Mai’s skin. Mai swallows hard and isn’t able to suppress the shudder from wracking her body. Yui takes a few steps toward her, and Mai barely resists the urge to back away.. “Is… Is that lavendar?”

At this point, Yui had stepped close to Mai. Thankfully, it isn’t too close for comfort, but it’s still unnerving to watch Yui close her eyes and sniff the air around Mai. After a few awkward seconds, Yui’s eyes open with a certain shine to them. It appears she figured out just what it is she is smelling. With an unnerving sense of excitement, Yui exclaims. “It’s you! You smell like lavender and honey!”

Before Mai can even respond, Yui lets out a squeal before eagerly continuing. “That smells so good! Did you borrow someone’s shampoo or something? I need to get that!”

Mai finds herself only able to stare numbly at Yui, while her friend bounces excitedly. After a few more tense seconds tick by, Yui releases a gasp, startling Mai. The blonde quickly spins and proceeds to attending the chicken once more. Mai finds herself staring at the back of Yui’s head in a stunned silence. What just happened? Mai didn’t use anything different from the last time she showered at the mansion. Dread fills her stomach when cold realization spreads over her.

No.

It can’t be too late, can it?

Her eyes narrow, and she begins to watch Yui carefully. Seeming to sense Mai’s gaze, the blonde glances over her shoulder. Red eyes meet slightly glazed over brown ones. A curious smile spreads over Yui’s face, and Mai’s heart sinks to the pit of her stomach. It’s almost like Yui is back to her normal, cheerful self. Her voice cuts through Mai’s thoughts. “Hey, do you mind helping me?”

Questions threaten to spill from Mai’s mouth, but she finds she isn’t able to form words. She just numbly nods and waits for Yui to tell her what to do. After a short pause, Yui asks her to cut the vegetables into bite sized pieces so she can steam them quicker. Mai quickly locates a knife and finds herself washing and cutting vegetables. A silence settles over the two girls. After a few seconds, Yui starts to lightly hum what sounds like a church hymn. It takes a few more minutes before Mai finally works up the courage to clear her throat.

“Yui, are you….. Are you feeling ok?” Mai pauses her cutting and looks up at her friend. The scent of mouthwatering chicken assaults her nose, but it’s not enough to dim her concerns. “You look pale.”

Red eyes lift to meet Mai’s, and she searches through them in hopes that she’ll find nothing but a human girl. Unfortunately, all she is able to see is confusion. Yui tilts her head and says, “What do you mean? I’m fine. In fact, I feel better than I have in a while, but I’m a little thirsty though.”

Mai’s body stiffens, and she turns her attention back to cutting the vegetables. She mutters softly, “I don’t think you are.”

Yui tilts her head a little, but she doesn’t get a chance to say anything. A loud scoff behind the girls has Mai jumping. Unfortunately, it happens right as she’s bringing the knife down. Thankfully, she misses her fingers. So, she drops the knife and spins on her heel to glare at the offender. To her absolute surprise, she finds herself staring into angry, red eyes, which causes a shudder to run down her spine. She desperately wants to apologize for throwing up on him, but her mouth seems to take a life of its’ own. She blurts out. “Do you really sleep in a coffin?”

He glares at her coldly before making a sound of disgust. He spins on his heel and promptly leaves without another word. Mai casts a panicked glance at Yui, who is barely stifling a giggle, before she quickly rushes after him without a second thought. She’s not sure why she feels so desperate to keep a friendship with a vampire, but she feels like she should at least try to make sure that Subaru understood that she is truly sorry for throwing up on him. It really wasn’t her fault after all. It was Reiji’s.

She flinches at that. Of course it’s her fault. She should have known better than to trust the dark haired vampire. She notices Subaru turning a corner at the end of the long hallway outside the kitchen. She quickly rushes after him with a cry of his name, but he doesn’t answer her. She takes the corner faster than intended, and her body collides hard with another person. Instinctively, her eyes snap shut. With a weightless feeling, she bounces backwards. Thankfully, whoever she ran into reaches out to grab her upper arms, keeping her from a painful landing. Her eyes snap open, and she says, “Subaru, I…”

The words die in her throat upon finding unreadable, green eyes instead of angry, red ones. A shudder runs down her spine when a smile slowly spreads over his face. Her heart leaps into her throat, making her feel like she is choking. She immediately tries to rip away from him. To her surprise, he simply releases her, so she scrambles backwards quickly. Unfortunately, her back hits the wall hard enough to drive the air from her lungs in one deep whoosh. She doesn’t get a chance to recover though since Laito’s hand lands only inches from her face on her left side, while he presses the fingertips of his right on the top of her hip bone. She flinches away, which causes him to release a light chuckle. Her eyes flick to his hand when he touches her again before snapping back up to glare into his face. She flinches when she discovers that he is much closer to her than she thought he would be. In a useless effort to get away, she presses her head against the wall as hard as she can. His fingertips slowly ‘walk’ their way up until his hand comes to rest on her side, and he begins to lightly rubs circles into her side with his thumb.

“Don’t touch me,” she hisses at him and tries to swat his hand away. He releases a deep, husky chuckle right beside her ear. She shudders when his chest presses lightly against hers. In response, she presses harder against the wall and attempts to make her breathing shallower. His cold breath brushes along the skin of her jaw and neck. She once again tries to shy away from him, but he simply presses his body closer to hers. Every muscle in her body becomes tense. She feels like she can feel every part of his body. Her eyes close tightly, and she releases a shuddering breath. She can’t exactly explain why, but she has a feeling that he’s angry, despite not saying anything. Finally, after what feels like an eternity of him simply breathing on her, he finally pulls away. She releases a small sigh of relief and lifts her gaze to find amusement on his face. Her mind scrambles to say something to him, but she can’t find any words. Unfortunately, she only gets a few seconds to think before he starts to move again. Her heart leaps into her throat when his hand drops from beside her face only to wrap tightly around her right wrist. Pain races from her wrist to her shoulder. Her lips part to release a soft gasp of pain. The moment the sound leaves her mouth, her body is yanked forward, and she fully expects to slam head first into Laito’s chest. Thankfully, he moves, so all she does is stumble. The relief is short lived when he gives another sharp tug on her wrist.

This one causes her to lose her balance when she pitches forward. Her knees scrape along the carpet painfully. She uses her left hand to try to brace herself, but it also scrapes painfully when Laito gives her right wrist another painful jerk. Tears spring into her eyes, and her body jolts forward once again. It feels like he’s about to tear her arm off. She tries to scramble to her feet as fast as possible, but she isn’t able to make it before he gives her another sharp tug, sending her careening to the floor all over again. Still, it doesn’t hurt as bad as when he yanked on her arm while she was still been on the floor. Once again, she tries to scramble to her feet.

This pattern continues for what feels like an eternity before they finally arrive at the destination Laito wanted. He pauses long enough to reach out and open the door. Thankfully, it’s enough time for Mai to climb to her feet. She flinches when her knees give a painful throb due to the now open wounds on her knees from being dragged across the rugs on the floor. The moment she is steady, he jerks again, this time toward the open door. She finds herself stumbling inside. As her body passes his, he releases her wrist. She’s not sure if she should happy that he finally let her go, or even more terrified. She recaptures her balance and spins to face him just in time to hear the lock slide into place. Her heart begins to race, and a cold feeling settles in the pit of her stomach. A quick glance around revealed that they were in one of the hallway bathrooms. Her eyes turn to lock with amused green ones that have traces of coldness racing through them.

It feels like goosebumps have begun to rise all over her body. Not only is she locked in the bathroom with Laito, but he stood between her and the only exit. She clasps her hands tightly together to try to hide the fact that she’s shaking. She’s sure that he can probably hear her heart racing and smell her fear, but she still doesn’t want him to see her shaking.

Something bad is about to happen. Her mouth feels like it’s gone painfully dry, and she finds herself desperately wanting to ask him what is wrong. She wants to demand that he release her; she wants to plead that he doesn’t hurt her anymore than he already has, but nothing would come out other than short ragged breaths.

After an eternity of silence, Laito finally releases a chuckle, causing Mai to flinch. He appears before her and scoops her up before she can react. An icy chill of pure fear races up her spine when he sets her back down on the counter. The counter is uncomfortably cold beneath her thighs, but she decides to not pay it much mind. He gives her a look of mock concern then leans down to inspect her knees. “Ah, Sweetheart, did you hurt yourself?”

She unconsciously presses her legs tightly together and gives him her best frustrated glare. Before she can stop herself, she snarls, “Yeah, I wonder how that happened.”

Her breath catches in her throat when his eyes lift to look at her. She expects to find anger or frustration, or even amusement that she’s trying to talk back to him. Unfortunately, all she see is a blank stare. There’s absolutely no emotion in his now glowing, green eyes. Mai cringes at the thought and scoots her body further onto the counter, but she doesn’t have much room to work with. His green eyes drop back to her knees, so she forces herself to look down to see that droplets of blood is oozing out slowly. She’s not sure how long she stares at her own stinging wounds, but her mind begins to wander, effectively causing her to zone out.

Everything comes back into sharp focus when the sting intensifies for a moment. She lets out a hiss, and her eyes refocus to find Laito grinning smugly up at her. His face is only inches from her own, but she stubbornly refuses to move. His cold breath brushes her face when he chuckles. His voice is low, and she catches a hint of danger. “Why did you wander off? I was trying to do something nice for you.”

Mai’s eyes narrow a little, and she coldly says. “I’m sorry. I’m not interested in sleeping with Shuu in his bed.”

A smug look flashes over Laito’s face for a moment before he pulls back. His thumb brushes over her knee, smearing the small traces of blood along her skin. He releases a chuckle deep in his throat, but his voice comes out cold. “I thought you were jealous. I was trying to make us even.”

Mai can feel her mouth drop open, but she can’t find words to describe how she feels. Is she disgusted? Is she irritated?

No, she’s just confused. What did he mean by that? She finally manages to make a noise that he must have taken as her asking him what he meant, since he releases another chuckle. To her horror, he lifts a hand from her knee. His fingers lightly brush up her thigh to the bottom of her shorts before slowly working their way back down to her knee. She cringes, but she doesn’t move to stop his strange petting, despite the fact that he is smearing the blood along her thigh. The last thing she wants to do is provoke him further. She still has a nagging feeling that beneath the surface, he’s angry. His voice is barely audible when he says, “those other girls.”

He says something else, but Mai can’t quite catch it. She feels completely stunned and shifts a little to keep the edge of the counter from digging into the back of her thighs. His eyes narrow, sending a jolt of fear down her spine. She reaches out to push his hand away, but she found herself reluctant to even try.

She stubbornly tells herself it’s because he’s being threatening toward her. After a few minutes of silence, she realizes that he’s waiting for a response. She attempts to say something, but it comes out as a strange croak. She clears her throat and tries again. “I… I don’t…..care about that.”

Without warning, her body is jerked off the counter. She scrambles to keep her balance, but her stomach gives an uncomfortable lurch when she’s spun to face the counter. Laito’s body presses into her from behind, causing her to be painfully pressed against the counter. Due to trying to catch herself, her hands are awkwardly spread over the counter top. A cold breath on the back of her neck has her frantically searching the counter top for something to help her get away him. After all, she doesn’t want a repeat of what happened last time. Unfortunately, the entire counter is clear of anything at all. There isn’t even soap to wash hands. The pit of her stomach feels like it’s dropped out from under her. He planned this. Her entire body begins to shake, and she tries to struggle, but she stops when Laito’s body presses against hers so hard that it causes the edge of the counter to dig painfully into her flesh. She releases a soft hiss of pain. Suddenly, cold fingers grasp her chin in an almost loving manner. She stiffens, but she allows him to lift her face. Her eyes lock with his in the mirror. What she sees makes her blood run cold.

Her face is twisted into one of pure terror, while Laito’s face appears above one of her shoulders wearing a look of amusement and excitement. She’s leaned awkwardly over the counter top with his body draped over hers like a blanket. It feels so much worse to see it instead of just feeling it. While she watches, her face begins to pale, while Laito’s eyes glow an eerie green color. His smirk reveals his fangs to her, causing her breath to halt in her throat. Her eyes snap down to one of her hands when she feels something cold brushing the skin. She watches as his fingers intertwine with hers. A feeling of numbness begins to take over her body. There is no way she can get out of this situation. He’s pressing against her so effectively that she’s not even sure her legs would move. A breath on her neck causes her to lift her gaze to meet his in the mirror. The terror melts away from her face at this point. To her utter surprise, she finds a look of cold indifference on her own face. While she watches, his nose brushes along the skin just behind her jaw. When he reaches her ear, he releases a puff of cold air against the skin just below her earlobe, sending a shudder down her spine that even races down her legs. He releases a soft cooing sound before saying in a low, husky voice. “Ah, is that a sweet spot?”

He blows cold air onto that same spot, sending another shudder down her body. She finds herself stubbornly biting her lower lip to keep from making any sort of noise. He releases a chuckle and tightens his grip on her hand, but she doesn’t find it uncomfortable. His voice in her ear causes her to jump. “I think it’s adorable that you are denying everything.”

She frowns at him in the mirror, but he’s not meeting her gaze. Instead, he’s looking down at her shoulder, as if it’s the most interesting thing in the world. A sense of uneasy spreads through her body, and she grasps at it. Unfortunately, it melts away just as fast as it appeared, and she finds herself not sure what exactly it is that she is feeling. His next words send chills all the way to her bones. “You like this just as much as I do. You don’t have to deny it anymore. I won’t judge you. I promise.”

His cold lips leave butterfly kisses along her jaw. She flinches and tries to lean away, but she doesn’t have much room to work with. He mutters once again in her ear. “Look at yourself.”

She swallows hard and drops her gaze to the counter, since she’s afraid of what she’ll see in the mirror. He lets out an amused chuckle against her skin, which he had started to kiss once more. His hand drops from her chin and begins to slowly trace her collarbone. She feels an even stronger sense of uneasy spread through her stomach, but she doesn’t have a chance to say anything to him. His voice fills her ears when he says. “You claim that you didn’t like sleeping with me, but you told me afterwards that you loved me.”

A flicker of anger ignites in the place where the pit of her stomach used to be. She manages to snarl. “You made me. I didn’t enjoy anything you did.”

Her gaze snaps up to glare at him in the mirror, but her mouth falls open when she feels his fangs brush the skin of her neck. Her eyes lock with her own in the mirror. A look of surprise colors her face. She can feel herself shaking, but she can’t form any words. His eyes lift, drawing her attention. A look of pure lust colors not only his face, but his eyes as well. While she watches, his fangs brush along her skin once again, but he put a little more pressure behind them this time, making her flinch at the slight sting. He pulls away and blows cold air over the stinging area. She flinches and closes her eyes tightly. She curls her hands into fists, though one of them simply grips his hand tighter. She shudders when he blows cold air over her skin again. His voice is somehow even lower than before. “You are mine. I’ll prove it to you.”

She opens her eyes to deny him, but she never gets the chance. The moment she can see herself in the mirror, she feels his fangs sink into her skin. A look of pain flashes over her face, and her head drops forward. She grits her teeth and clenches her eyes shut. She lets out a soft whimper, but the pain only lasts a moment before the same mind numbing pleasure from before slowly spreads over her body from where he’s biting her.

She slowly opens her eyes to stare at the sink. It feels like an eternity is passing by in an agonizingly slow manner. All she can hear is his soft moans, and the sounds of him swallowing in her ear. The pleasant tingle has spread all the way to the tips of her fingers and toes. Her body felt oddly warm, which makes the spots his cold skin is touching even more noticeable. A sense of heaviness begins to fill her limbs, and her head starts to feel lightheaded. She hasn’t had enough time to recover from the last time he drank from her. Cold fingers send a shock through her body when the fingers tracing her collarbone lift to gently grasp her chin once again. She tries to fight it, but she finds her body not wanting to respond correctly. He easily lifts her face upwards. Her gaze locks with a shocking sight.

Her face is paler than normal, but it isn’t twisted in pain like she expects it to be. A look of pure pleasure twists her face into something unrecognizable. It makes her feel sick to her stomach to see that it appears she is enjoying it. Her eyes lock with glowing, green eyes. He pulls back enough to give her a fanged grin. A dark, red color coats his teeth and bottom lip. His tongue is also a darker shade of red than usual. Her limbs suddenly feel cold, but her body continues to pulse with that pleasant tingle. Her mind scrambles to figure out if she is frightened by the sight of Laito’s blood stained mouth hovering near her shoulder or if she is enjoying what he is doing.

Her thoughts turn to a more pressing issue. What is wrong with her? Has she become a masochist? When did she become one?

“You never try to run,” Laito coos in her ear. She feels his cold tongue slowly run over the source of the pleasantly numb feeling, and she shudders. He’s right. She should have tried harder to get away from the Sakamaki’s, but she just went along with everything.

“You had an opportunity to tell someone else about us. What stopped you?”

She opens and closes her mouth a couple of times. The dizziness is creating a fog over her mind, and she finds herself absentmindedly watching him continue to alternate between licking and kissing her neck. Her voice comes out as small and weak. “I...don’t…..”

She flinches. She can barely hear herself talking. He lifts his head to look at her in the mirror. A smug smile colors his face. Without warning, she finds herself being swung around again. Her head spins violently, making her feel even sicker to her stomach. She once again finds herself sitting on the counter, only this time she doesn’t get a chance to close her legs tightly. Laito settles himself between her knees, causing a sense of alarm to race through her body. Her muscle tense, but the spinning hasn’t quite stopped yet. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get a chance to get her bearings before Laito makes his next move. One of his hands rests on the top of her thigh, just below the edge of her shorts, while the other buries itself in her hair. She barely has time to close her eyes before she’s jerked forward. Her lips collide hard with his. She lets out a hiss of pain, but that turns out to be a mistake. It parted her lips just enough that he is able to shove his tongue into her mouth. Her eyes clench shut, and a metallic taste overtakes her mouth. She breathes in sharply through her nose and gags around Laito’s tongue. It feels like he is trying to coat her entire mouth in the taste of her own blood. She tries to pull away, but his fingers curl even tighter in her hair, causing tears to spring up in her eyes.

Her lungs start to burn from the overwhelming need to breath. The short breathes she’s able to get through her nose is quickly becoming insufficient. Finally, it seems like Laito’s had enough, since he pulls back. Mai greedily gasps in air the second that Laito’s lips leave hers. The lightheadedness seems even worse than before, and she finds herself unconsciously leaning forward. Her head rests on his shoulder, while her forehead presses against his cool neck. Despite herself, his cool skin feels wonderful against hers. She feels like her body is on fire, and she’s having a hard time getting her thoughts in order. She’s vaguely aware that his cold fingers are once again lightly petting her thighs. Thankfully, his fingers are stroking the outside this time. The smell of his cologne threatens to overwhelm her, but she finds a strange sense of comfort in it.

Her eyes widen when that thought crosses her mind, and every muscle in her body stiffens. She’s faintly aware that Laito is humming something under his breath, but she can’t make out what song it is. She decides to not dwell on it, since it doesn’t sound familiar anyway. Her mind swings back around to the fact that at some point she started to believe she’s safe around Laito. She feels him move, and his arms wrap around her waist. Suddenly, the entire room feels like the temperature drops. Her eyes widen, and she lifts her head away from his chest. Her eyes meet pitch black ones just over Laito’s shoulder. Her hands unconsciously find the sides of Laito’s shirt, just above his hips. Her entire body begins to shake, and she wants nothing more than to tear her gaze away from the horrifying sight.

To make matters worse, she watches what appears to be a worm slowly work its way out of one of the dark holes and bump around before disappearing into the other one. Bile quickly rises up her throat, and it only gets worse while she watches something white start to slowly creep around the edges of the darkness. She doesn't want to know what it is, but she has a feeling that she already knows. The scent of death and decay quickly overwhelms Laito’s scent, making her gag so hard that her abdominal muscles ache. She tries to tear her gaze away, but the second she looks away, an entire skeletal face appears only a foot away from her face. Unfortunately, it’s now in clear view to her right and appears to be a rotting head. There's no hair, and bits of decaying flesh cling to the cheek areas. The white bubbling out of its eyes begins to move like it’s alive. Mai feels herself dry heaving once more. Without warning, the wiggling mass falls out of the eye socket onto the counter beside her with a wet sounding plop. She’s not sure why, but her gaze is drawn downwards. She unconsciously releases a loud screech at the sight of a handful of flailing maggots. She tries to thrust her body away from the floating skull, but something blocks her. Despite trying her hardest to look up at what she knows is Laito, she can't get her gaze to leave the sight of the disgusting larvae, so she ends up scrambling the best she can into his body. She faintly hears him saying her name, but she still can’t turn her gaze away. A haunting voice that sounds vaguely familiar begins to echo throughout the bathroom.

“The time has come for you to play your part.”

She finally manages to slam her eyes closed, but it doesn’t stop the voice from ringing in her head. Instead, it gets to the point where the words begin to echo over each other, so it’s impossible to understand what is being said. She’s only able catch names here and there, but the rest may have well been baby babble.

“Mai….” A muffled voice coos in her ear. Everything falls eerily silent, and her eyes snap open. She finds that she’s still sitting on the counter. Her legs are tightly clenching Laito’s waist, while her hands are covering her ears. She lifts her head up, only to have her nose brush against Laito’s. Surprise fills her entire body, and she jerks backwards. Her head collides hard with the mirror, and pain races through her skull. She lets out a cry of pain that echos loudly throughout the bathroom, making the ringing in her head even worse. She quickly leans away, only to feel something slip down the back of her shirt. Prickles of pain follows the tickling sensation, causing her to thrust her body forward. She frantically reaches back, but the shirt pulls at whatever was in her shirt, making the pain even worse. She lets out a soft whimper of pure terror. Her mind keeps looping around to the maggots. Were they real? She flinches when she’s pulled tightly against a chest. The scent of death and decay that seems like it will forever be stuck in her nose begins to slowly give way to something much better. She jerks when she feels the back of her shirt being pulled away from her body, but she doesn’t fight against him. She found Laito’s touch preferable to being bitten by maggots. She tenses when she hears a soft clinking sound on the hard counter behind her. A sigh from above prompts her to slowly lifts her gaze to meet amused, green ones. Her mind finally finds a life line, and she’s able to focus once more.

She focuses on his scent, since she worried that the disgusting smell from before will assault her once more. His cologne helps to erase any traces left over. She closes her eyes and subconsciously leans closer to him. She flinches when his cold fingers suddenly touch her spine. It felt like ice cold water had been poured over her. Her eyes snap open; her back arches, and she jerks herself away from him before settling a glare on him. He lets out a deep chuckle and lifts two fingers to his mouth. Disgust fills her body when she sees small traces of blood on his fingertips. Her eyes lock with his, and she finds herself unable to turn away. Lust fills his eyes, and he slowly parts his lips only to slowly press his fingers in. He slowly pulls his fingers out, gives her a seductive smirk, and allows his tongue to lightly lick any ‘traces’ left on his lips. Mai feels herself cringe, but she’s unable to actually look away.

A loud banging on the door causes her to jump. Relief feels her body since she’s finally able to snap her gaze in that direction. It feels like all the tension in her body melts away. She hears a soft groan from Laito, and the tension returns. Her breath catches in her throat when she feels him press his face into the joint between her shoulder and neck. His breath tickles her skin, causing her to cringe. She jumps again when someone knocks on the door once more. She opens her mouth to respond. Unfortunately, Laito chooses that moment to lightly nip at her skin, causing her to release a sharp gasp instead. She puts her hands on his shoulders and shoves hard, but he doesn’t move an inch. She presses hard again, but it just causes him to chuckle against her skin and nip once more. She jumps when his fangs brush along her skin.

“Mai? Are you ok?”

Mai’s gaze snaps back to the door. That sounded like Yui’s voice. The blonde starts to loudly knock on the door once more. Mai opens her mouth to call out to Yui, but a sharp pain races through her head. She flinches hard and jerks away from Laito. Thankfully, he decides to let her go this time. She doesn’t waste any time in sliding off the counter. She cringes when her body brushes his and quickly steps away the moment her feet touch the floor. She’s careful to keep her eyes on him while she backs toward the door. A shudder runs through her body when something catches her eye. Her gaze reluctantly turns toward the mirror, and her heart drops to the bottom of her stomach causing her to freeze on the spot. Her head decides that is the moment to let out a very painful throb.

The mirror behind the sink is cracked with a few shards missing. She flinches when she realizes that the ‘bug’ that went down her shirt was really a piece of glass. Why didn’t she notice the sting from before? Her hand lifts to touch the back of her head, but she stops when Laito clicks his tongue at her. Her gaze snaps back to him, and a mixture of disgust and anger starts to burn through her stomach. Every part of her that he touched begins to crawl. How could she willingingly let him touch her so easily after everything he’s done to her? To make it even worse, she hadn’t even tried to fight back.

Bile starts to rise in her throat, and she watches his mouth move. She can’t quite catch the words though, and she frankly doesn’t care. She knew there was a reason that she didn’t fight back. The idea makes her feel even worse. She lets her hand drop to her side once more. She silently denies her new revolution with everything she has, but she knows it’s no use.

She has not fallen for him. He’s a cruel, sadistic, brat who only thinks of himself.

She can’t describe how thankful she is when Yui knocks on the door once more. Mai quickly turns her back on Laito and bolts to the door. The second her hand touches the cold metal, she hears Laito say, “You have already fallen, you just don’t know it yet.”

Goosebumps appear on her skin, and she stares at the door hard. She gives a soft shake of her head and jerks the door open. To her surprise, Yui’s face pales slightly, and she lifts a hand to her nose. Self-consciousness threatens to overwhelm Mai, but she shoves the thoughts away. She has already had a shower so there is no way that she could possibly stink. Yui’s red eyes widen in concern, and her slightly muffled voice asks, “Are you ok?”

“Ummm……” Is all Mai manages to say. She flinches when her head gives another painful throb. Without a second thought, she reaches up and touches the middle part of the back of her head. Pain races through her skull, and tears spring forth. She lets out a loud whimper and jerks her hand away. She glances at her fingers to find that they are lightly coated in a familiar, red liquid, causing her to feel sick to her stomach. All the strength seems to drain from her body, and her legs start to shake. Cold hands grab her shoulders, making her let out a strange strangled sound. Her gaze snaps up to find concerned, red eyes.

A strained look passes over Yui’s face, and her eyes flick down to Mai’s fingers and lingers longer than necessary. An unreadable look passes over her face before lifting to look at Mai’s eyes once more. Her gaze morphs back into a look of concern once more. That feels like it cements everything. Yui is no longer human, but Mai doesn’t think she’s a vampire yet. A shudder runs down Mai’s spine, and it feels like the entire world is suffocating her. Is she all alone now? Helplessness threatens to overwhelm her. For a brief moment, she allows herself to wallow in self pity, but it quickly disappears when Yui gently prods her further into the bathroom. Mai numbly follows. She’s faintly aware of the fact that Laito is still standing by the sink with a playful smirk on his face. Somehow, Mai finds herself standing in front of the sink, though Yui stands between Mai and Laito. Water rushes from the faucet below, but her mind can’t quite grasp why. It’s not until a small amount of cold water pours over the top of her head that she figures out what Yui is doing. She quickly leans down closer to the sink and closes her eyes. Cold water is splashed over her scalp, and she finds herself gripping the edge of the counter tightly. Maybe she should just take another shower to wash the blood out of her hair. Both Mai and Yui jump where there is a loud sigh near the doorway. Three sets of eyes turn to find Reiji standing there with a stern, cold frown on his face. His arms are crossed over his chest, causing him to look like a parent that just caught children misbehaving. Mai’s heart leaps into her throat and begins to race, effectively making her feel like she is choking on it all over again. She swallows hard, but it does little to soothe the sensation.

“What is going on here?” Reiji coldly asks.

Silence is his only answer. A look of irritation slowly starts to spread over his face before he sighs and takes a step toward the group. Mai flinches, but she’s unable to move from the approaching vampire thanks to Yui, who is still holding her hair. Reiji stops uncomfortably close and glances from Yui to Mai and, finally, at Laito. After a few more minutes of silence, Reiji lets out another sigh and turns his attention back to Mai. The look he gives her makes her feel like a child that got caught stealing sweets before dinner. She swallows hard and blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. “I…. Well….. I upset Subaru, and I…”

“I am well aware that you or Yui upset Subaru; however, that does not explain what the three of you are doing in the bathroom together,” Reiji coldly states. Mai swallows hard and closes her eyes. She secretly curses the fact that Yui is now leaning into her and still has a hold of her hair, so all she can really see without much effort and pain is Reiji’s stomach. After a few tense minutes pass, Mai hesitantly says.

“Well, I don’t really know for sure, but… I mean Laito and I were here, and I accidentally hit my head on the mirror. I didn’t even feel it until Yui caught my attention and….”

Reiji lifts a hand to stop Mai’s nervous explantation. She feels Yui tense against her side, which makes her even more nervous. Mai closes her eyes and waits for something to happen. Unfortunately, something does happen. Cold fingers brush her scalp, causing her to jump. An annoyed sigh causes her eyes to snap open, and Reiji coldly states. “Please hold still. You have glass in your hair, unless you’d like to cut your scalp more than you already have.”

Every muscle in Mai’s body becomes taut to the point of pain. She’s not sure how long she stands there staring at the pink tinged water run down the sink, but it sent chills down her spine that the only sounds of breathing she can hear are her own. She wants nothing more than to glance at Yui, but every time she moves to look at her friend, Reiji presses his fingers into one of the shallow wounds hidden in her hair. This earns a hiss of pain from her which is followed by a satisfied sound from Reiji. After what feels like an eternity, Reiji suddenly presses on the bottom portion of her skull. Despite the urge to resist, she allows him to push her head under the faucet. The cold water is enough to steal her breath away. She grips the edge of the counter even tighter and closes her eyes. She’s grateful that the water runs harmlessly along the edges of her face, but it’s still nerve wracking. Thankfully, it only lasts for a few seconds before she’s released. The second she straightens, a towel covers her head, and she finds herself jerked backwards. Her back collides with a solid chest, and she feels fingers begin to lightly prod her scalp. Despite herself, the sensation is more pleasurable than she cared to admit. Her muscles start to relax in response. In fact, she is so relaxed that she doesn’t even jump when Reiji coldly states. “Since you have rudely broken something that doesn’t belong to you, you will have to pay for it.”

Mai slowly reaches up to grab the edge of the towel and lifts it enough to find Reiji staring at the broken mirror with a look of cold indifference. Mai bites back a retort. The last thing she needs to do is upset Reiji even further. After a few more minutes of silence, she watches Reiji turn his attention to Yui. His cold voice cuts through the silence like a knife. “It seems that you are still an airhead. Do you not smell something burning?”

Yui lets out a piercing cry of surprise that has even Mai cringing at the echo. Before Mai can say anything, Yui seems to literally disappear before her eyes. A feeling of uneasy settles in the pit of her stomach. It continues to grow when Reiji’s cold, red eyes find Mai’s partially hidden ones. Once again, Reiji coldly states, “You do not have any concerning cuts. It appears that your hair kept most of the glass from cutting your skin.”

Mai quickly thanks him, but he doesn’t respond. So, she lets the edge of the towel fall back into place, causing him to disappear from sight. After a few tense moments of silence, the massaging stops, and she reaches up to pull the towel away from her head. She takes a step away, and spins to glance up at Laito, who casts her a flirtatious smirk. She opens her mouth to snarl at him, but she decides against it and closes her mouth with a snap. She turns on her heel and starts towards the door. Thankfully, he doesn’t say anything to her. The unfortunate part is he follows her out. She clenches her jaw tightly, but she refuses to break the silence. Sadly, Laito doesn’t seem to share that thought process, since he starts to talk the second they leave the bathroom. “Aren’t you curious as to what I was doing with other girls?”

A strange heat begins to form in the pit of her stomach that is quickly followed by disgust. She quickens her step, despite knowing that it won’t help. Sadly, she’s right, since Laito simply increases his pace and begins to go into gruesome details about not only what he did with other girls but also describes how their bodies felt. A sick feeling settles in the pit of her stomach, and she tries to make it to the kitchen before she finally loses her cool. Unfortunately, she’s still a couple feet away when she finally snaps. Laito is currently describing exactly what he felt while having sex with some random girl. Mai spins on her heel and turns to face him. Her face feels hot, but she isn’t sure if it’s embarrassment at what Laito is telling her or anger at him. She blurts out coldly. “Why do you feel the need to tell me this crap?! I don’t give a damn if you sleep with 90% of the female population! Keep it to yourself!”

An amused grin spreads over his face, and his eyes seem to light up. He takes a threatening step towards her, but he looks like he is genuinely enjoying himself, which makes her even more furious. He tilts his head and gives her a look of mock curiosity. “Ahhhh, is someone jealous?”

“Who would be jealous over a freak like you?” Mai snarls. Her hands curl into tight fists. “In case you didn’t notice, my whole world does not revolve around you!”

He playfully clicks his tongue and coos in a clearly mocking manner. “You look jealous. Why don’t you be honest with yourself and give into the pleasure?”

“Like hell I will, and I’m not jealous!” Mai snaps out. The smug smirk on his face infuriates her even more, so she turns to finish going to the kitchen. It's clear that something is indeed burning, and she can faintly hear Yui apologizing to someone, though Mai assumes that it's likely Reiji that the blonde is apologizing to. Unfortunately, she only gets one step before two arms wrap around her shoulders from behind. A chest presses into her back, and her entire body tenses in response. She flinches when a puff of cold air brushes against her ear.

“You look jealous, sweetheart,” Laito coos in a tone full of mock love. It feels like something literally snaps deep inside her body. She barely resists the urge to elbow him in the ribs. Before she can stop herself, she coldly states.

“I may appear that way to you, but at least I’m not a literal motherfucker.”

The air around her suddenly becomes stale and cold, and she instantly regrets that last jab. His arms start to tighten around her shoulders to the point of pain. She grits her teeth and tries to bare it, but it quickly becomes obvious that he doesn't plan to release her anytime soon. She finally lets out a hiss of pain and softly says. “Look, I may have gone too far with that last one. I’m sor…”

“I don’t need an apology,” Laito’s deep, cold voice states in one ear. Goosebumps begins to rise all over her body. She can practically feel the unusual anger radiating from just those words. Her breath catches in her throat, and she feels her body starting to shake. She cringes when she hears a deep, cold chuckle. To her relief, he finally starts to loosen his grip on her shoulders. She silently urges him to release her a little more, and her mind begins to try to form an escape plan. She flinches, and her mind goes blank when she feels his cold lips brush the skin just below her ear lobe. His voice is still deep with a hint of cold anger to it when he says directly into her ear. “I want you to be honest with yourself.”

Chills race up and down her spine, and she closes her eyes tightly. She decides that it’ll be easier to just tell him what he wants to hear, rather than dealing his anger. She shudders when she remembers what had happened the day before. The last thing she wants to do is provoke his anger and have him try to drown her again. After all, she values her own life. She closes her eyes tightly and says softly. “Look, I’m really sorry.”

Something cold rubs her jaw, causing her eyes squeeze even tighter. It feels like she’s been punched in the gut when he whispers softly in her ear. “I want you to admit that you are jealous.”

Her jaw clenches tightly, and her stubborn streak sets in. She fights against it with all her might and forces between clenched teeth. “Fine.”

Silence fills the air after the tense word. She barely refrains from rolling her eyes. She opens her eyes to glare in the direction of the kitchen. She focuses on the scent of burnt food rather than her own words. Still, they come out from between clenched teeth. “I’m jealous.”

“Of what?” Laito playfully prods. Mai barely represses the growl of utter frustration.

“Of the fact that you were with other girls.” Pain ripples from her hands. She hadn’t even realized that her nails were digging into her palms until that moment. To her utter relief, Laito lets out a chuckle and finally releases her. She quickly steps away from him.Despite herself, she glances over shoulder at him. His chuckle hadn't sounded genuine. Surprise fills her body when she catches an almost lonely look on his face. A lump forms in her throat, and guilt threatens to overwhelm her. She'd overstepped the line when she had insulted him. After all, he could've been an unwilling participant. He did react negatively when he talked about his relationship the day before.

A cold wave washes over her. She is making excuses for him. A sickening feeling settles in the pit of her stomach once more. She stubbornly repeats to herself that she thought of him as a friend at best. His words in the bathroom float back to her, and her entire body tenses. Did she really belong to him? Is that why he made her watch him drink her blood? Before she realizes it, she’s running away. Tears fill her eyes. She did not care for him as anything more than a possible friend. A haunting chuckle echos after her, and his words feel even more haunting.

“You know love isn’t real.”

She chokes on the air, causing her to let out a strangled noise. Her feet follow a familiar path, and she barges into a room. Unfortunately, it’s not empty like she is hoping for.

“Hey! What the hell?” A frustrated voice snaps out. Her eyes lock with green eyes that seem to haunt her, even if they held a look of frustration instead of amusement. That frustration melts away into a look of unease. Her hand grips the door handle to Yui’s room tightly while she watches a watery Ayato lean away from her. “What the hell are you crying for?”

Humiliation makes the pit of her stomach feel like a cold heavy rock. To make matters even worse, she lets out a loud sob. Ayato makes a sound that is close to a groan. “Hey, don’t fucking cry! You look ugly when you cry! Was it Laito? If you are crying over such a freak than you are a pathetic human, who deserves what she got!”

She isn’t sure why she is still standing there. She feels like curling into a little ball. All she manages to do is nod a little. Her eyes close, and warm tears start to fall down her face. When did she turn into such a crybaby? She hears Ayato let out a sound of complete irritation. She faintly hears him telling her something along the lines of Laito being an asshole and a handful on a good day. She frustratingly wipes at her face. After the third sigh of irritation and unintelligible, awkward set of words, she mutters an apology and quickly leaves. She stays close to the wall and makes her way down the hallway. She pauses midway to her half thought out destination. Perhaps she should go back to the kitchen. She quickly shakes the thought out of her head. There is no way that she is going back there. Either Laito is going to be there, or Reiji is. Yui would be there for sure, and Mai doesn't think she can form a coherent sentence at the moment. She also doesn't feel like trying to explain what is going on inside her mind. Her new plan isn’t ideal, but she doesn’t think that she will harassed as much.

Once she convinces herself that this is her best option, she is able to continue on her way. Thankfully, she makes it to the desired door without any mishaps. She reaches out to knock, but she pauses with her fist inches from the wooden door. She only takes a moment to think about it before she drops her hand to the knob without knocking.After all, he is probably asleep, and she doesn’t want to wake him up and have him kick her out of his room.

She easily and silently slips into the room. Her eyes catch sight of him lying on his bed, causing her to release a sigh of relief. His back is to her, and from what she could tell, his side is steadily rising and falling. She quickly glances around the room before her eyes lock with a door, and a sense of determination overwhelms her. With one last glance at the sleeping Shuu, she quickly and quietly makes her way over to the door. Without a second thought, she slips inside and closes the door, which leaves her in total darkness. The overwhelming scent that seems to hang around Shuu hits her nose. Her hands pat her pockets, and relief rushes through her. Once again, it seems like Laito has slipped her phone into a pocket at some point. She takes it out and wakes it up. To her surprise, it's only mid-morning. She notices that she has a couple of text messages, but she chooses to ignore them for now. After a moment, she activates the flashlight mode and glances around the closet for a place to hide. Once she finds and settles in one, she opens her texts. To her relief, it isn’t her parents. Instead, it’s Shiro.

He's talking about hanging out sometime the next day, then he proceeds to whine that Kou cornered him at school and demanded that he join her and Shiro. A smile spreads over her face. The second one is asking how Yui and her are doing. He also asks if Yui would like to hang out with them outside school. The smile slowly melts away, and she ends up reading the text a couple of times, completely unsure of how to respond. Finally, after reading it at least ten times, she responds with a simple generic text about how funny it is that Kou cornered him. She tells him that Yui and herself were both fine and hanging out sounded like fun. After a second of hesitation, she types that she will ask Yuk if she wants to hang out. She jumps when her phone goes off only seconds after she sends her text message. She quickly opens it to see that he said that it's good that they are doing well, and he asks where and when they should hang out.

It takes a couple of text messages before they settle on the next day at around three p.m. Unfortunately, he informs her that Kou has been texting him and asking, so he’s going along with them. After that, the conversation turns to Kou, with Shiro mostly complaining about how he doesn’t like people like Kou. Tiredness threatens to overwhelm her, and she can’t help but wonder if the cause might be the fact that Laito had drank so much that she passed out. Before she knows it, she dozes off.

______________________________________________________________________

A bright light appears behind her eyelids, and she release a groan. A soft chuckle forces her to open her eyes. The lightbulb in the closet burns her eyes, causing her to blink rapidly. Thankfully, a shadow falls over her, allowing her to finally open her eyes and see who woke her up. She finds herself staring up at an amused Shuu. Sleep stubbornly clings to her body, so she’s not able to form coherent thoughts. She barely understands Shuu when he playfully says, “I didn’t know you were a closet pervert.”

Mai scoffs and closes her eyes. She pulls her pillow close to her chest and snuggles into it. Shuu lets out a soft chuckle, causing irritation to well up in her stomach. She opens one eye to look up at him. Sleep even clings to her voice when she croaks out, “Is there something you need?”

“You are in my closet,” Shuu states, as if it couldn’t be more obvious. Mai rolls her eyes then closes them.

“Obviously. You’ve never had an issue with me being in your room before, and I've been in your closet plenty of times.” She forces an eye open when he releases a breathy chuckle. He had leaned closer to her. To her surprise, she doesn’t feel the same sense of danger that she usually feels with the others. She lets her eye drift closed once more. She's so warm and comfortable that it's hard to care that a threatening vampire is leaning over her. “I never bother you while you're sleeping.”

“You have,” Shuu states dryly. Mai lets out a sound of irritation and slowly rolls so her back is to him. She’s careful to take her pillow with her. After all, it wouldn't do to lose such a comfortable thing.

“That was on Reiji’s orders. In case you didn’t know it, Reiji is terrifying,” she tiredly states, trying to put as much irritation as she can into her voice. Shuu lets out a scoff.

“Reiji is all bark and no bite.” She chooses not to respond to that. Perhaps he'll leave her alone if she simply ignores him. She hears a shift, and relief fills her entire body. It seems like pulling a Shuu on the very person will pay off. She jumps when his voice appears directly in her ear. “Hey, closet perv, how long do you plan on clenching my clothes? I didn’t know you were into using men’s underwear as a pillow. My shirt’s not a blanket. You certainly are perverted.”

Mai lets out a soft screech, causing him to pull away and release a slightly annoyed sound. She sits upright to find that Shuu isn’t lying. She isn’t sure how, but she somehow created a nest of his clothes in her sleep. She leaps to her feet and bolts toward the door without a second thought. Unfortunately, a hand wraps around her upper arm with surprising strength. Her gaze snaps back to meet tiredly amused, blue ones. He says in a playful tone. “Hey, hey. You can’t just new up my closet and try to run away.”

Her muscles tense, and she glances at the mess before turning her gaze back to him. She stutters a few times, which just seems to amuse him more. She finally forces herself to stop and take a deep breath. Thankfully, it seems like Shuu isn't in a hurry, so she takes her time. Finally, she says softly, “You’re right. I’m an intruder, so I’ll fix the mess I made.”

He releases a disinterested scoff and releases her. The relief she gets from that is short lived though, since he adds. “You owe me more than just cleaning up the mess you made. You intruded in my room without permission.”

Her eyes lift to lock onto his once more. She knows what he wants without him having to say anything. He gives her a chilling smirk and turns to leave the closet. 

“I'll collect that debt when I'm ready to,” he lazily calls over his shoulder. Mai rolls her eyes and reaches down for the first piece of clothing. There is no way she is going to be him blood. After all, she never agreed to. To her surprise, Shuu adds “You can sleep on the floor or the couch. I don’t care which.”

She glances out the closet door at his back. A feeling of gratitude swells up, despite his cold way of teasing and demand for her to pay with her blood. She wrinkles her nose at the feeling nose and makes a face at his back. She returns to the task at hand and quickly tries to finish it. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long, but the second she steps out of the closet and shuts the door, there is knocking across the room. She glances at Shuu, who once again appears to be asleep. She jumps when she hears Reiji’s muffled voice from the other side of the door. “Mai, please meet me in the kitchen.”

Unease fills her stomach, but she forces herself to slowly make her way toward the door. Just as she reaches it, she hears Shuu mutter. “He’s so scary that you obey his every command without question, huh?”

Mai can’t help but stick her tongue out at him before quickly leaving. The last thing she wants to hear is him claiming that she is offering something strange to him. She makes her way toward the kitchen. A mouthwatering scent meets her halfway, causing her to pick up her pace. The second she rounds the corner, she is stunned to find that she isn’t the only one to be called to the kitchen. Subaru sits in a chair in the corner of the kitchen, while Laito leans against the counter with his arms crossed. Both wear completely different looks on their faces. Subaru has his usual annoyed look, while Laito has a mischievous one. Mai sucks in a deep breath and turns to leave when Reiji’s cold voice cuts through any thought of escaping. “If you leave, you'll be punished.”

It's a genuine threat that she doesn’t think he'll have any issue carrying out. She slowly turns back to the kitchen to find Reiji standing in the middle of it with his arms folded over his chest. He's also giving her the coldest look she has ever seen. Without further instructions, she stiffly makes her way into the room and finds a seat as far away from Subaru and Laito as she possibly can. After a few moments of fidgeting, Reiji lets out a sigh of pure irritation. His sharp, stern voice causes her flinch. “Human, enough with the fidgeting. Now, Subaru, I will start with you.”

She glances at Subaru when she hears a snarl from him. Though,he doesn’t even spare her a glance, much to her disappointment. She breathes a small sigh of relief that Reiji’s cold glare has turned away from her for the time being. It feels like she's about to get lectured by her parents. Unfortunately, it seems she’s right to some degree when Reiji coldly states, “Subaru, enough with your behavior. It's unbecoming of the Sakamaki name. Please get over the fact that she vomited on you.”

Subaru starts to say something, but Reiji simply raises his voice. “Humans are vile, disgusting creatures, so it is to be expected that they would result to animalistic behavior. It was something that she simply could not help. I would appreciate it if you would stop venting your anger out on the house, or I will send you to live with her and her family for a couple of months.”

Subaru releases a threatening growl, but he doesn’t retort. He simply stands to leave. Fortunately for him, it appears that Reiji is done with him, so he quickly makes his exit. Mai clenches her fist and glares at Reiji. She can't believe what he had just said. She isn’t some farm animal that can’t think for herself. She barely manages to keep from saying just that when his cold, red eyes turn to face her. “And you….”

She could practically feel the venom dripping from his words. “You come into this house and break everything in sight. You are almost as bad as Subaru. If you had just listened, you wouldn't be having this issue with him. On another note, your crude behavior with Laito needs to stop, as well. You are both appalling and behaving in an undignified manner. You'll stop acting like a lovestruck puppy with every ounce of attention that Laito gives you.”

She opens her mouth to protest, but Reiji just rises his voice like he did with Subaru. “I do not care what your relationship with him is. Either give yourself over to him willingly, or find someone else. You cannot continue to string this relationship along in such a manner. You are the most unlady-like, human, female I have ever met. Do you have no shame?”

He scoff, as if laughing at his own cruel words. His attention turns to Laito before Mai even gets a chance to be defend herself. “Laito, you are to stop coercing this pathetic human. Your games are getting in the way of not only your schooling but hers as well. If one of you shall fail, father is likely to punish you over the human.”

To Mai’s surprise, she actually sees Laito cringe. She wants to enjoy the moment, but her anger continues to boil under her skin. She felt humiliated and insulted, but she isn’t sure how to even get a word in edgewise. Thankfully, the sting of Reiji words are lessened by the way he talks to Laito. “You know how you are expected to behave. While she is no longer a guest, you still do not have the right to torment her to the point that it bothers the rest of us.”

Laito lets out a sound of mock annoyance. “The only one bothered is Subaru.”

Reiji clicks his tongue like a parent would at a misbehaving child. His face slowly morphs into an even sterner look, though it clearly isn’t working on Laito. Reiji coldly states. “You're wrong. She wanders the halls in an effort to be rid of you. She proceeds to bother Yui, which frustrates Ayato. We finally have some peace and quiet from his childish pranks, but it will not last long if this human continues to disrupt the two of them. Not only that, she now irritates Subaru with her mere presence. Her run-ins with Kanato typically result in a loud exchange between the two of them. You provoke her to the point that she is unnaturally loud.”

Heat flushes Mai’s cheeks. She feels utterly humiliated and insulted; however, like before, she’s unable to get a word in edgewise. He continues by stating. “Recently, you have chased her into that good-for-nothing’s room, causing his disgusting scent to cling to her. It’s utterly repulsive when mixed with her already overwhelmingly human scent. If it continues, I'll be forced to take disciplinary actions.”

Laito gives Reiji a playful look and asks, “Oh? What'll that punishment be?”

Reiji slowly pushes up his glasses, and Mai finds herself feeling curious as well. It seems like an eternity passes before he finally answers. “I will handcuff the both of you together before adding Kanato to the mix.”

Mai cringes at the very thought of being handcuffed to Kanato and Laito at the same time. That practically spells trouble. She feels the blood drain from her face. What did she do to deserve this? Her gaze snaps to Laito when she sees him open his mouth out of the corner of her eye. She tries to convey a silent threat, since she's positive that he is about to sass Reiji. The last thing she wants to do is get punished because Laito can’t keep his mouth shut. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to her. “That doesn’t seem like much of a punishment. It actually sounds more like a reward.”

To her complete frustration, it sounds like he's pouting. She jumps when there is a noise directly in front of her, and her gaze snaps around to find mouth-watering steak sitting before her. She glances up, but Reiji is already across the kitchen. Her eyes drop to the food below her, and a sense of hesitation swells up. Should she risk it? What if it's poisoned?

She flinches when her stomach loudly growls at just the scent. She glances up to find both of the vampires watching her. Laito has a look of pure amusement on his face, while Reiji has an indescribable look on his face. Mai’s eyes drop back to the mouth-watering plate, and she fights the blush that threatens to take over her face. She closes her eyes when her stomach growls loudly once more. She tenses when Laito start to laugh. Reiji’s voice cuts through Laito’s laughter. “Eat before it gets cold. If you waste any food, you will never eat at this house again.”

Mai’s eyes slowly open, and she glances up at Reiji. There is so much that she wants to say to him, but she can’t bring herself to say anything. She decides it’s best to just do what Reiji says and starts to eat. She barely represses the moan from escaping the second the food touches her tongue. She'll never admit out loud, but Reiji is the best cook she’s ever met. While she eats her food, she’s faintly aware of the fact that Reiji is still lecturing Laito, but she doesn’t pay particularly close attention.

“You’ve got to make…….feed her…..” Reiji states coldly. Laito lets out a whining sound and responses with something along the lines of that Reiji never allows anyone in the kitchen, so how could he make anything? Mai quickly loses interest and proceeds to finish her food. She leans back in her chair and lets out a content sigh. Her eyes drift closed, and she feels every muscle in her body start to relax. Despite everything that has been happening, it still feels nice to have a full stomach. A sudden feeling of tiredness sweeps over her, and she yawns. She doesn’t even know what time it is, since she isn't sure how long she slept on the floor in Shuu’s closet. She jumps when she hears a sigh above her. Her head is reclined back, so the moment she opens her eyes she can see a set of red eyes peering emotionlessly down at her. Fear washes through her, and she bolts to her feet. Just as she gets to her feet, her body suddenly feels heavy, and she has to reach out and grab the table to keep from tipping over. It feels like an eternity passes before she’s able to focus. The first thing she notices is that her plate is gone, and Reiji is talking to her from across the kitchen once more.

“Go to sleep. It’ll be irritating for the rest of us if you pass out and sleep on the floor like that good for nothing. Next time, tell Laito not to suck you to the point you pass out.”

Biting back the remark that Laito won't listen, she simply gives a slow nod. Once more a sense of tiredness washes over her, and she finds it hard to focus on anything. Once the haze clears enough to form thoughts, she finds herself alone with Reiji. His back is to her, and it sounds like he's doing dishes. Mai casts one last glance toward Reiji before leaving and wandering down the vast hallways. She vaguely remembers the room Laito had shown her. She assumes it's fine to sleep there since she was told it was supposed to be hers. She pauses in the middle of a hallway and cringes. Her heart starts to race. Perhaps she should go back to Shuu’s room? That thought makes her cringe just as much.

No. It'd be better to finally have some alone time. After a couple of deep breaths to calm her nerves, she continues on her way.

After a couple of tries, she manages to find the plain room. She uses what little strength she has to shut and lock the door before collapsing on the bed. She’s faintly aware of the fact that her pocket is vibrating, but she finds that she doesn’t really care enough to exert the effort to fish out her phone. Besides, she can’t fight the tiredness anymore, so she just gives into the warm embrace of unconsciousness. She’s faintly aware that the door sounds like it's opening.

________________________________________________________________________

Her eyes refuse to open, but something woke her up. After some effort, her eyes slowly open. She's still laying in the middle of the bed, but she's lying on her side. Something presses against her back, while a weight rests over her waist. A steady breath moves her hair a little and cools the back of her neck. She doesn’t have to look over her shoulder to see who it is. She already knew. Oddly enough, she has a feeling that it isn’t Laito who woke her up. She slowly lifts her head and glances around the room, but she doesn't see anything out of order. She carefully twists her body until she is sitting upright, causing Laito to shift in his sleep. Still, her mind doesn't focus on him. She has the hair rising sensation that someone is watching her. Still, she can't find the source or what woke her up. A cold wind rushes over her, causing her to shiver and regret not using the blanket. Suddenly, she notices something odd out of the corner of her eye, and her gaze snaps in the direction of the bathroom. She jumps when Laito’s arms wrap around her waist and draws her closer just as another biting wind rushes from the open bathroom door. She blankly lets him pull her back down. She's faintly aware of him pressing his face into the back of her shoulder. Adrenaline begins to course through her veins, sending a thrill to the tips of her fingers. Her heart starts to race, and she feels positive that all the doors had been shut when she dozed off, though she hadn't paid close attention. 

Due to the cold, her skin begins to form goosebumps in order to deal with it, and a shudder races through her body. She pulls her legs up to her chest, wraps her arms around them, and stares at the open door. An unusual amount of light pours through the doorway. In fact, it's so bright that she can easily make out all of Laito’s features when she glances over her shoulder. Every warning bell in her mind starts to go off. There is no way that she's going to step into the bathroom and shut the window. She hugs her legs tighter and glances back at Laito.

For once, she finds herself grateful that she isn’t alone. A thud from the bathroom causes her gaze to snap back in that direction. It’s followed by more thudding sounds, causing every muscle in her body to tense up even more. She’s so focused on the doorway that she misses the movement behind. She lets out a scream of pure terror when something cold touches the area around her belly button. She rockets off the bed and tries to twist mid-step. Unfortunately, she still hasn’t completely recovered from her blood loss the day before, so a wave of dizziness sweeps over. The room continues to spin, even though she’s sure she's stopped, causing her to end up losing her balance and landing on her butt. She lets out a hiss of pain that is interrupted by laughter. Mai’s gaze snaps up to find Laito holding his stomach in what appeared to be genuine laughter. For a moment, she feels like her heart skips a beat before anger sweeps over her. She puffs out her cheeks and snarls. “What the hell are you doing in my room? Why did you touch me?”

It takes a moment for Laito to fully contain his laughter before he turns his bright, green eyes on her. Her eyes narrow a little in an attempt to look threatening, but all she gets in response is a fanged grin. When he finally talks, his voice is low, almost seductive, when he asks. “Oh? This is your room?”

Mai’s eyes narrow at the stressed word. She has a feeling that he's setting up a trap, and she isn’t about to willingly walk right into it. He shifts his body until his head is propped up by one of his arms. The other rests lazily on his side. One leg stretches to it’s full length while the other is bent to an upright position. Silence settles between them for so long that Mai almost forgets about the thumping that had woken her up. As the seconds tick by, Laito’s grin continues to grow, causing unease to completely fill Mai’s body. Finally, Laito breaks the silence. “If you accept this is your room, than do you accept what it means?”

He punctuates his sentence with a dark chuckle. Mai’s muscles go completely rigid. She clenches her jaw tightly and scrambles for something to say. Laito only gives her a few seconds to come up with a reply before playfully stating. “Your silence is enou-”

“It’s a guest room. I misspoke.” Mai cuts him off. Laito’s eyes glow for a moment, making Mai awkwardly scramble back a couple of inches. She instantly regrets not getting to her feet, but she has a feeling that she'll just feel dizzy if she tries. Thankfully, he doesn’t make a move to follow her. He simply watches her with an amused look on his face. She swallows hard and opens her mouth to change the subject when the thumping starts up again. She jumps a couple of inches and finds herself scrambling back toward the bed, completely disregarding the dizziness. Before she can stop herself, she’s climbing over the top of Laito. Despite her fear, she still gets a sense of achievement when her knee hits his sternum hard. She hears the wind rush from his body, but it doesn’t slow her down. Thankfully, it seems she stuns him enough to make it to the headboard. She twists and presses her back tightly against the frame and glances upward before turning her gaze toward the bathroom door. She can now see a little bit of the bathroom, but she can’t see what the source of the sound is. She jumps when she hears a low growl from Laito’s direction and reluctantly tears her gaze away from the doorway to look down at furious, glowing, green eyes. Mai flinches and presses her back even tighter against the headboard.

The thumping in the bathroom causes her gaze to snap away from the angry vampire again. She lets out a squeak when she spots something dark flash from one side of the bathroom to the other. Unfortunately, it moves so fast that she isn’t able to actually figure out what it is. She turns her frightened gaze back to Laito when she hears laughter erupting from him all over again. Her entire body is shaking at this point, and her mind races with a variety of things that the dark flash can possibly be. After all, she has seen plenty of women in white by this point, and the decomposing face earlier has her nerves on edge. She jumps when it starts to thump once more. Her eyes return to the doorway. Her arms wrap tightly around her knees, and her nails dig into the skin on her forearms. Prickles of pain race up her arms, but she chooses to ignore the feeling. The only thing to tear her gaze away is the sight of Laito’s back when he makes his way toward the bathroom. Every fine hair on her body stands on end, and her mind starts to race. Could he also hear that terrible thumping noise? Does that mean that it isn’t all in her head? She finds herself watching him intently the second he steps into the bathroom. His head turns in a direction that she can’t quite see, and she watches him squat down. His lips move, but his voice is too low for her to hear.

Her throat feels like it’s suddenly gone dry. Is he playing a prank on her? Her nails dig deeper into the skin of her arms, and she hugs her legs tighter to her body. She glances upward once more just to make sure that nothing is creeping along the ceiling. The sound of a sigh brings her attention back down. Her eyes catch vivid, green ones before she notices something moving just below her line of sight. Her gaze drops even further to find that he's cradling what appeared to be a bat in his hands. Her heart skips a beat, and it feels like all the tension leaves her body. Her eyes flick back up to find Laito’s amused smirk. His playful tone cuts through the silence. “This is what you are so scared of?”

It's clear from his tone that he's mocking her. She grits her teeth and rolls her eyes before looking back down at the bat. “What is it doing here?”

Laito lets out a chuckle and carelessly tosses it onto her bed. Her heart drops for a moment then begins to race when she hears a painful squeak coming from the small creature. Before she thinks through her actions, she’s on her hands and knees, crawling toward the poor animal. She freezes when it starts to move awkwardly. Upon watching for a moment, she realizes that one of its wings is sitting at a cringe worthy angle. Pity swells through her stomach, and she glances up at Laito. Shock threatens to overwhelm her pity when she finds an unusually cold expression on his face. She barely represses the flinch when his eyes move from the bat to meet her gaze. The cold look melts away into one of pure amusement. His playful tone cuts through the silence. “It’s just one of my familiars.”

Mai cringes and looks down at the poor, broken bat. She scoots closer as worry threatens to overwhelm her. She watches its chest rise and fall rapidly. Its head is hidden beneath the awkward wing, so she isn’t able to see its face. She scoots close enough to reach out and touch it. She lifts a hand to do just that before freezing. Don’t bats carry all sorts of diseases like rabies? She recoils for a moment and looks up at Laito, who is once more giving a cold, uninterested look in the direction of the bat. The seconds of silence pass by before Mai goes against her better judgement. “Laito?”

His gaze instantly snaps up to meet hers. She flinches back then cringes when a playful smile spreads over his face. He tilts his head a little and playfully says, “It told me it hurt itself coming into your bathroom, though I don’t know why it was trying to. I have other familiars who watch over you.”

Every muscle in Mai’s body freezes, and the overwhelming sense of being invaded takes over. She can practically feel the snarl taking over her face when she asks, “What?”

He lets out a chuckle. That's the only warning she gets before his face appears only an inch or two in front her own. She flinches back. Thankfully, he allows her to distance herself. While she watches, his hand comes out to lightly run his fingers over the bat. It comes as a little bit of a relief to see the bat relaxing to some degree under his touch. Her attention is drawn back to Laito’s face when he starts to talk. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re my little toy, and I’ve got to watch out for my things.”

Mai feels repulsion threatening to overwhelm her. She scrambles to find something to say, but her mind keeps turning back to the fact that she was watched without her knowledge or consent. She finds herself wanting to know how much and where he’s watched her, but she’s also afraid to find out the answer. Her gaze drops back to the bat once more, and she decides that she has to change the subject. “Are you going to help it?”

Latio lets out a scoffing chuckle that sends a cold feeling of dread to the pit of her stomach. She watches his fingers slowly leave the bat’s fur and has to fight the urge to lunge for the bat. Laito lets out a sigh, though it somehow sounds amused. His head moves, causing her to look up at him again. To her utter disbelief, she finds him shaking his head. His states in a playful tone. “No. It messed up by going somewhere it isn’t welcome. I’ll just have one of the other familiars gather it up and take it away. Perhaps Reiji can find its parts useful for whatever.”

The bat lets out a piercing squeak that Mai assumes is full of terror and starts to flail wildly once more. Mai’s eyes widen in disbelief, and she stares at him in a stunned silence. Finally, she manages to choke out. “Yo….you’re going to kill it?!”

Laito’s eyes lock with hers, and his usual playful smirk is still in place. Mai’s heart skips a beat when she sees him reaching for the bat. Without any hesitation, she lunges forward and scoops the bat up. She’s on her feet bouncing awkwardly out of his reach. She turns to give him a cold look. Her voice comes out much shriller than she intended. “You can’t just kill it!”

The second she finishes her sentence, a searing pain races through her hand. It travels up her arm until it reaches her shoulder, making her feel like she just got electrocuted. Another jolt races up her arm only seconds later, and she involuntarily releases the bat. The pain continues to race through her hand and arm even after her fingers leave its’ body. She flinches when she hears it hit the floor, and guilt instantly fills her body, leaving a bad taste in her mouth. Her gaze glances down to make sure its alright before turning to look at her hand. Tears spring up in her eyes when another wave of pain runs up her arm. Her palm is quickly filling with blood, but her brain doesn’t want to catch up to what's happening. All she can focus on is the fact that small ripples of what feels like ice is now rippling from her hand. It’s not until ice cold fingers wrap around her wrist that she’s able to focus. She glances up to find Laito’s glowing, green gaze peering at her. She doesn’t move at all when he leans his head down while pulling her hand up. She screams in her head to jerk away from him, but her body refuses to move. She can only watch with tears welling up in her eyes as Laito starts to lick the blood in the palm of her hand. Suddenly, everything feels surreal.

She is so caught up in the moment that she jumps when her pocket starts to vibrate. Thankfully, it’s just the boost she needs to rip her hand away from Laito, reach into her pocket with her clean one, and grab her phone. She glances at the caller ID, and her heart skips a beat. She can tell she has missed a couple of calls, since they are in the notification bar, and she has a couple of texts as well. Her main focus is the person calling her.

In bold letters, it reads: Shiro.

Without further hesitation, she swipes to answer the call and lifts it up to her ear. She instantly regrets is when a loud voice echos through the phone.

“You’re late!!!”

Mai flinches at the sound and pulls the phone away. She glances to make sure that it really says Shiro, since that certainly doesn’t sound like his voice. Confusion fills her body when it does indeed say his name. She finally replaces the phone back to her ear only to catch the person mid-rant. “....en here for like an hour! You better bring M-Neko-chan! If you don’t, I’ll…. Hey!”

The voice changes, causing Mai to roll her eyes. Thankfully, it turns out to be Shiro on the other end. His deep voice playfully asks, “Hey, did you forget?”

She hears what appears to be a slap, causing her to stifle a chuckle. She can hear what she assumes is Kou’s voice in the background, but she can’t catch what he's saying. Mai finally gets her chuckles under control before saying. “No, I didn’t. I just overslept, sorry.”

Her gaze turns to Laito only to drop to where the bat is. Her heart skips a couple beats upon finding it gone. In fact, she almost drops her phone, but she manages to snap her attention back to the conversation she’s having with her friend when he says in a playfully, whiny voice. “Please, please, bring Yui. If you don’t, I’m sure we won’t be able to handle Kou. I suspect that’s his true reason for wanting to come along to hang out with us.”

Mai lets out a sigh and rolls her eyes once again. She says in a playfully, annoyed voice. “Fine. I’ll go drag lazy bones out of bed, but if I get in trouble it’s your fault! Are we still meeting at the mall?”

“Yup.” Shiro lazily states. Mai barely catches Kou’s voice just before the click of the phone.

“You’re buying lunch for making us wait!”

The beep in her ear brings the dread back to life. Laito is still standing uncomfortably close to her, and she has a feeling that he heard the entire conversation. She glances at her wounded hand to find that it's still throbbing, and blood is still bubbling up, though it's slowed considerably. Panic fills her body at the sight of the blood since it reminded her of the bat. Despite it biting her, she still doesn’t want it to die. It is an animal after all, and she should've known better than to handle it the way she did. She jumps when Laito chuckles, and she drags her gaze away from the blood to glare at him. Before she has a chance to even ask anything, he says. “Don’t worry about the familiar. I have others taking care of it. In the closet, you’ll find some clothes. If you promise to take me, I’ll go get Little Bitch for you.”

Unconsciously, her eyes narrow a little, while suspicion fills her body. His ‘kindness’ always comes with a price, and the smile on his face practically spells trouble. She starts to shake her head no, but his face turns into one of genuine hurt, complete with eyes that are steadily gaining a small amount of moisture. She cringes at the sight. It’s now completely obvious that Kanato and Laito are related. She grits her teeth and states as coldly as she can. “Fine, but you have to behave yourself. Please try to get Yui away from Ayato. I’d rather not have to deal with him in public. You and Kou are going to be bad enough. You do realize that it’s almost noon, right? The sun is going to be out.”

Laito only winks at her before disappearing. Mai flinches and reluctantly makes her way over to the closet. She jerks it open only to roll her eyes. It looks like half of her clothes are hanging on one side of the large closet. She glances at her hand, and guilt fills her once more. She hopes the bat will be alright. After a moment of hesitation, she grabs new clothes and quickly changes inside the closet. She glances around the whole time, but she doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Still, the thought of being watched makes her rush through the process as quickly as humanly possible. Thankfully, she makes it out of the closet just as Laito appears with a half asleep Yui in his arms. He carelessly dumps her on the bed causing Mai to roll her eyes. She hurries to her friend’s side and quickly explains what is going on. Thankfully, Yui seems on board with it once she fully wakes up. She promises not to wake Ayato while she goes back to her room to change. They come to an agreement that the three of them will meet at front door in twenty minutes.

The minute Yui’s gone, Mai hurries to the bathroom to wash the wound out. She mentally curses herself for not doing it sooner. While soaking it in water, Laito appears beside her, causing her to let out a jump and a yelp. She gives him a frustrated look in the mirror, though she does notice he is ready to go. The thoughts of what happened the last time they were in a bathroom together has her cringing. To her utter surprise, Laito gently takes the wrist of her wounded hand and pulls it closer to himself. She tries to jerk it away, but he gives her a playful smirk and tightens his grip to the point of pain. She grits her teeth but needs his silent warning. It takes a moment to force her muscles to relax. While she is doing that, he proceeds to slowly wrap a bandage around her hand. Once again, this act of kindness rouses suspicion in her. Her eyes narrow, and she practically snarls. “What are you planning?”

He blinks at her with feigned innocents that quickly melts away into feigned hurt. “I was just trying to be kind.”

 

She cringes at the fact that he even manages to make even his voice sound hurt. Unfortunately, everything is short lived when he presses a finger into the wrapped bite, causing her hand to give out a sharp throb. She releases a gasp and opens her mouth to snarl at him, but he’s already gone. Unfortunately, he didn’t bother tying the bandage off, so it quickly starts to loosen. Mai barely bites back the anger. He just created more work for her, since she now has to unwrap and rewrap the wound. She mutters under her breath about how much she hates him. Why on earth did he have to use a wrap-like gauze? She tries to give up halfway through and searches for band aids, but, oddly enough, she isn't able to find any. She considers leaving it open, but she cringes at the thought of it getting infect. She finally heaves a sigh and gives into trying to wrap the gauze around it. It takes a few tries, but she finally manages to get it situated correctly. She checks her appearance once more in the mirror before quickly making her way to the front door.

A sliver of relief fills her when she finds only Laito and Yui standing there. For some reason, she thought that Ayato would show up. After ushering them out the door, she glances back at the mansion. Her thoughts turn to the poor bat, but she quickly pushes the thought from her mind. She'll ask Laito about it later. Right now, it's time to finally unwind after everything that has been happening. A thrill of excitement rushes through her veins, and she hurries after the other two. A regular, black car is waiting for them at the bottom of the steps, much to Mai’s relief. Unfortunately, she somehow finds herself stuffed between Laito and Yui.

Still, she’s determined to not let it damper her mood. She’s going to hang out with a couple of friends like a normal person would do. She jumps when a cold hand appears on her upper thigh. She casually brushes it away. Only seconds later, the hand reappears. She rolls her eyes for what feels like the millionth time in the span of only an hour.

She takes back her previous thought. Nothing is going to be normal about this outing. Her eyes flick over Laito, who is leaning against the door with his eyes closed. He looks completely relaxed, asleep even. Mai grits her teeth and turns her gaze to Yui. She gives her tired friend a smile and starts a one sided conversation about what all they should do today. Unfortunately, it does little to distract her from the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. The hand remains on her thigh, despite every effort to brush it away. To make matters worse, he gives her a playful squeeze.

She tenses and closes her eyes. It feels like the skin under her jeans is crawling, but it also feels warmer than normal. Something is seriously wrong with her brain. Sorrow starts to overwhelm her. She just wants a normal day for once. Why can’t something like that ever happen?

Oh.

Right.

She lives in a world where vampires are real, and she was stupid enough to get tangled up with them. Her life will never be normal, even if she does manage to escape Laito.

A lump forms in her throat, and she forces herself to focus on continuing the small talk with Yui. Hopefully, it’ll be enough to put her mind at ease until they get to their destination.


	24. Bonus Chapter: Shuu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! Long time, no see!
> 
> I'm sorry I've taken so long to update. Just been a little busy lately, and this bonus chapter was surprisingly hard to write! T.T Shuu's...difficult. So, I hope you guys enjoy it, and I hope he's in character still. It's more of a broad overview!

He no longer cares about anything. All he truly feels like doing is sleeping. In fact, it always feels like too much of a hassle when it comes to dealing the whatever woman his father sends their way. While he has ended up with a couple of prospective brides himself, but it was simply by their choice. They thought that fleeing to the eldest would save them from the rest. They were sorely mistaken. He could careless if his brothers took them or not. Unfortunately, the newest bride is turning out to be the worst of them all. She not only smells mouthwatering, but she repeatedly insists on sticking her nose into his business at home, despite ‘choosing’ Ayato. To make matters worse, she recently drug some unrelated human girl along with her to once again spoil his nap at any available convenience. Still, both are easy to ignore when they first invade his music room, though a tingle of irritation coils in the pit of his stomach when the klutzy bride trips over him. He mutters softly at her to watch where she is going. Somehow, the stupid girl manages to knee him while she climbs to her feet. One of his eyes cracks open just enough that he could see through the lashes. The bride steps over him, easily flashing her panties at him. His gaze slowly shifts to find a brown haired girl standing beside him. From his angle, he could see up her skirt as well. He softly clicks his tongue, which goes unnoticed by the girls. He settles back to go to sleep. After all, neither are wearing anything worth remembering.

Just as he manages to melt back into his music and it reaches it’s crescendo, a giggle rips through, effectively killing the mood. His eyes open a little, and his attention shifts back to the girls. It doesn’t come as a surprise that they are talking about one of his brothers. A soft, scoffing grunt leaves his mouth, and he can feel a pair eyes lock onto him. The blonde girl is still rattling off about how the brown haired girl had hit Ayato. Despite the small amount of irritation at them ruining the best part of his music, the thought of his younger brother’s stunned face when a human hit him is enough to earn a chuckle from the eldest Sakamaki. Despite himself, he finds himself listening to the two of them talk about Ayato. It doesn’t surprise Shuu that the bride seems willing to just let Ayato do as he pleases. His brother is possessive freak with a large ego, so it’s easiest for whatever bride placed in his path to just follow along until he killed them.

To be honest, that’s all the brides could ever do, regardless to which brother they are dealing with.

Unfortunately, the amusing conversation comes to an end when a very irate Ayato appears. His amusement with the girls’ conversation was starting to wane anyway. Despite Ayato’s anger exploding in the form of physical violence, Shuu could care less. He barely even feels the kicks that his brother delivers, but the three of them are starting to frustrate him since they are now drowning out the gentle music he has playing in his headphones.

Looks like it’s time to move once again. He’ll find his way back to the music room when they leave it.

_________________________________________________________________

Peace seems to be short lived around this new bride. She has to be the reason that the browned haired girl is now in their house. The human seem to be crashing around the house like a herd of elephants. He doesn’t bother to open his eyes when she enters the living room, but he can smell Subaru lurking in the shadows, watching the human. His younger brother’s generosity wasn’t seen often, but Shuu knew that he would try his best to look out for the brides under the care of his brothers, though Shuu wasn’t exactly sure why. Either way, this is just as amusing as the lost girl. He decides to speak up to let Subaru know he’s aware of his creeping around as well as to scare the girl.

After all, he is always in the mood for a little humor.

Just like he expects, Subaru makes a sound of annoyance and leaves, while the human turns her attention on him. He finally manages to get a heavy lid open. She clearly didn’t trust him, which takes the form of hesitation. With an inaudible sigh, he decides that maybe this game isn’t going to be worth it. The overly cautious ones were never fun. Unfortunately, the human girl turns out to be more stubborn than he would like and continues to ask him questions long after his interest dies. Thankfully, Laito shows up to distract her.

Unfortunately, their struggling alerts Reiji, who appears after only a few moments. Shuu releases a soft sigh and drags his tired body up. He isn’t in the mood to deal with his pushy younger brother, so he slips away completely unnoticed.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time seems to slip by almost unnoticed by him, but it seems that lately he has been finding himself being bothered by the girls more and more. Yui is always the one to start it, but the brown haired girl willingly gets drug along. Shuu finds that he can’t complain too much. It generally gave him a good chance to peep up their skirts when they were wearing them. Unfortunately, he continues to be disappointed by their choice of panties.

From his observations, Mai seems much more entertaining than Yui, but it may be because Yui reeks of only Ayato. Laito’s scent is always clinging to Mai, but there are traces of his other brothers along with multiple other people. She also has the funnier facial reactions to his actions. They typically ranged from cold indifference to clear suspicion. It's painfully obvious that she doesn't want anything to do with him, but she still somehow allows the bride to drag her along.

Still, he hasn't spent enough time with either of them to form a solid opinion, and he doesn't plan to. There is no point in getting close to either of them. After all, the bride chose Ayato, and Laito seems to have a great deal of interest in the human girl. Neither were known for being gentle with their toys, and humans were all fragile. Once again, the guilt threatens to surface, so he turns his thoughts away from the two human girls. He felt exhausted, so he decided he was ready for a nap.  
_______________________________________________________________________

Unfortunately, Reiji interferes with his choices once again. He smells her the moment she walks into his room. Curiosity bubbles up, but it quickly becomes obvious what she is there to do. She is there to be a living, breathing alarm clock. A small smile spreads over his face. This’ll be fun.

It turns out he’s right. Despite the hassle of having to deal with two human females every school day, he finds himself enjoying it. The sound of laughter mixed with the sounds of struggle always make his mornings. It also makes it worth his while to see the frustrated look on Ayato’s face in the car before school. Before he realizes it, he finds himself looking forward to the two girls invading his room.

They are a never ending source of amusement for him. Mai tries to befriend Subaru, and it seems to be going as well as expected. Shuu isn’t sure why she tries to befriend the cold vampire, but it’s still entertaining. The bride seems to handle Ayato better than Shuu expected. The most entertaining of all was the fact that Laito seems to have taken an unhealthy interest in the brown haired girl. Shuu couldn't figure out if Laito cared for her or was simply toying with her. It's a puzzle that easily intrigues him, so he finds himself watching the two of them.

It's easily noticeable to Shuu when Laito takes that extra step. Mai’s scent changes overnight, but that isn’t the only thing that changed. Mai’s usually bright eyes seem to glaze over during the rides to school, and she tries even harder to hold a conversation with Subaru, who seems to notice the change as well. Yui keeps casting concerned looks in Mai’s direction, and an unease settles in the furthest reaches of his mind. A place that hadn’t been active since he had lost his only friend all those years ago. These thoughts disturb him more than he’d like to admit. There is no way that two scrawny human females could ever fill the hole that Edgar had left behind, but he still finds himself watching the two of them even closer after that day.

Every time Yui or Mai touches him, their warmth seeps into his icy cold skin.

Every time he feels that warmth, he reminds himself that they are fragile and already dying. There is no point in caring for them.

But, he still finds himself watching them.

It turns out that he isn’t the only one interested in them; however, this fact only becomes obvious after Mai makes the foolish mistake of trusting Reji. She had bumped into a door in the hallway, which keeps him from dozing off. He weighed his options on helping her, but he found more cons with the idea. The biggest con being that he’d actually have to put forth some effort. To his surprise, he hears Subaru’s voice. The first thing he says is harsh, but the second one has a softer edge to it. To Shuu’s amusement, he realizes that Subaru must think he’s alone with a mostly unconscious, human female.

Despite his best efforts to be kind for once, the human girl ends up vomiting on the silver haired vampire. Shuu doesn’t bother to hide the smirk on his face as he rests inside his room. After all, it’s not like anyone else could see it. After Laito collects her, he allows himself to drift off into a dream that he hasn’t had in a long time. He’s sure that it’s a dream that must have been sparked by his growing attachment to the bride and her troublesome friend.

______________________________________________________________________________

He doesn’t bother hiding his full disdain at the fact that Laito is once again trying to drag him down into the pits of desire. To make it even worse, they had invaded his bed. The scent of Mai’s blood hangs heavily in the air, but Shuu finds he has no desire to drink once his tired gaze lands on her motionless form. In fact, just looking at her pale face makes him feel even more exhausted. He easily tunes out whatever Laito’s saying, just as he does with just about everyone.

His gaze unintentionally finds the girl again. She looks like she’s sleeping just as peacefully as he hopes he can. Without another thought, he crawls into bed beside her and lets his body fall. His eyes close, and he easily evens out his breath. He can hear Laito sighing, but he isn’t concerned about that. The thing that has gained what small bit of his attention that is left is a disgusting chlorine smell emitting from beside him. Once he hears Laito’s breath even out, he readjusts and lets himself drift off.

Unfortunately, his nap is short lived. Something lukewarm brushes his back, and he jerks awake. One blue eye slowly opens to stare straight ahead. A hint of irritation swells for a moment before quickly dying away. He turns enough to look over his shoulder when something brushes his back once more. His eye spots the source of the disturbance. Mai is twitching lightly in her sleep, and her mouth is moving, though no sound pours out. She jerks once again, and her hand brushes his back. She must have moved closer to him at some point. While he watches, her face twists, almost as if she ate something sour. It only takes him a second or two to figure out what is happening. She’s having a nightmare. An arm wraps loosely around her waist, and Laito’s sleep logged voice echos loudly.

“Sweetheart, hold still. You’re making it tough to sleep.”

Unfortunately, it doesn’t do anything to help the situation, though Laito seems to have fully drifted off again. Shuu’s not sure how long he watches her twitch, but eventually he feels himself drift off once again.

Once again, he’s woken just when he enters a good dream of the past. He can feel the bed shifting beneath him. With a soft inaudible sigh, he mentally tells himself that he’ll never allow another person to sleep on his bed again, especially Mai. To make matters worse, she is starting to smell moldy. He rolls onto his back and lazily forces one eye open. The sight that greets him is enough to make him forget his temporary discomfort. Mai is staring at him with wide, horrified eyes. A light blush begins to dust her cheeks, which gave her pale face more color.

Overall, she looks like a teenager that just got caught sneaking back into the house at an insanely late hour.

It only gets better when she awkwardly tries to ask him if they had sex with her while she was unconscious. Just like with everything else, the entertainment quickly wears off, so Shuu lets his own eye slide closed. Despite not falling back asleep immediately, he completely ignores her anything else she has to say. He honestly doesn’t remember much of their conversation other than him asking her to take Laito, which she blatantly ignores with a cheeky smile.

The second she leaves, Shuu uses this chance to roll away from the other male and drift off to sleep once more.

_________________________________________________________________________

He isn’t sure when Laito slips out, since he’s having a dream about playing with Edgar. Like always, time slips away from him. The wonderful dream turns darker, until all he can smell is the scent of a fire burning people alive. His eyes snap open, and he finds himself lightly coated in a cold sweat. He had rolled onto his back at some point, so he stares numbly at the ceiling. He hasn’t had that dream for a while, so he figures something must have triggered it.

It takes a bit, but he finally drags himself into an upright position. Perhaps it has to do with the bride and her friend. He has been getting closer to them than he would like. He gives a shake of his head in order to clear the disturbing thoughts and starts toward his closet. He’ll rest in the bath. That always helps to calm him after a nightmare.

To his surprise, he opens the closet to find one of the culprits laying on his closet floor. He stares at her silently for a few seconds in order to fully take her in. She’s made a ‘nest’ of his clothing. A small smile spreads over his face. It’s always just so much fun to tease both her and the bride. They have such amusing expressions after all. Without a second thought, he reaches out to flick the light on. She jerks violently and scrunches her face, as if that will help keep the light out of her still closed eyes.

He tilts his head a little when he notices that she is not only using his shirt as a pillow, but it appears she is clinging to it as well. The sight causes his amusement to grow. This will give him plenty to tease her about for a while. Without another wasted second, he leaps into his teasing. Their conversation creates an unexpected opening that he immediately jumps at. There are plenty of things he can ask her to do to ‘make up’ for sleeping on his closet floor. It’s just a matter of deciding.

The ideas lazily drift through his mind, but he doesn’t dwell on any of them for too long. He could make her wear something embarrassing, like a slutty french maid outfit, or he could do something simple, like make her give him blood. He decides that he won’t put much thought into it right now. After all, he’ll know the perfect way to get back at her when the time is right. Unfortunately, his teasing is interrupted by Reiji.

That’s one thing that confuses Shuu the most. Reiji’s overly harmless as long as you followed his strange rules. There are other, more dangerous vampires roaming around the mansion. Laito is a good example of one such vampire. It won’t matter what she does for him, she’ll always get punished while in his care, so why is she terrified of Reiji?

The question starts to drain what little stamina he has left, so he decides to not dwell on it. After all, he has more entertaining things to dwell on at the moment, even if he did decide not to dwell on it. Perhaps he can convince the bride to join in on the punishment. Now, that’d be something worth staying awake for. He slowly makes his way back to bed only to stop when the wet smell hits his nose. He gives his bed a dissatisfied look. On a positive note, he could use this to further her embarrassment. 

His tired eyes find the source of the smell. He won’t be able to get good sleep with it so close to him..

Besides, he feels like ruffling Reiji’s feathers for a change. He’s been unwillingly good lately. The bride and her friend have been making sure of that. It’s time to break a stupid rule by sleeping in the living room with his shoes on one of Reiji’s stupidly, expensive couches.

With that thought in mind, he makes his way out of his room.


	25. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

The second the car rolls to a stop in front of the very busy mall, Mai practically climbs on top of Yui to open the door. Unfortunately, Yui moves at the wrong moment, and they both tumble from the car. Yui lets out a loud, pain filled yelp when her body connects with the curb just below the car door. There’s unfortunately enough space between the car and the sidewalk for Yui’s body to fit into perfectly. Mai doesn’t fair any better. She attempts to catch herself, but she ends up kneeing Yui in the chest, causing the girl to fall back and arch her back painfully over the curb. Mai isn’t able to fully extend both arms, so one of her hands and the opposite elbow connect with the rough surface of the concrete. She lets out a cry of pain and rolls onto her back while cradling her limbs to her body. Tears spring up when her new wounds throb in time with the ones that Laito had already given her. To further her humiliation, she has created a spectacle out of not only herself, but her friend as well. In fact, she can already hear the whispers of the spectators while they wonder if the two girls were ok, along with a few laughs and muttered insults. 

A cold hand touches her shoulder, and her eyes snap open. Large, soulless eyes peer down at her from behind semi-dark glasses. Without allowing her to jerk away, the familiar pulls her to her feet and proceeds to methodically clean any dirt from her clothes. Mai attempts to pull away, but the familiar simply follows her. Her concerned eyes glance toward Yui, who is standing near the car with a look of pain on her face. Thankfully, she doesn’t appear to be too hurt. Mai’s gaze snaps back when something soft touches her skin. To her complete surprise, she watches the familiar easily bandage her new wounds. In fact, it only takes a matter of seconds before he steps away, bows, and turns on his heel to return to the car. Unease settles into the pit of Mai’s stomach. She has never been treated like that before, and she isn’t sure she likes it. An arm wraps around her shoulder, startling her from her thoughts. Her gaze snaps to meet an amused green one. Despite the fact that she wants to pull away, she finds that she can’t get her body to move. She knew it shouldn’t let what happened disturb her so much, but she can’t help feeling that this is somehow his doing. Finally, she manages to reach up and sweep his arm away from her. Frustration swells in the pit of her stomach when he responds with an amused smile. She turns her attention to Yui and hurries to her friend. She’s vaguely aware that the car has already left.

“I’m so sorry, Yui! Are you ok? It’s just that Laito was touching me, and I just couldn’t stand it anymore!” Mai states in a barely intelligible rush. Yui gives her a smile and shakes her head before saying.

“I’m alright, Mai. Don’t worry about it. Now, aren’t we running late?” A smile spreads over Yui’s face before she takes Mai’s hand. A bone deep chill races up Mai’s arm, and she numbly allows Yui to drag her along.

Oddly, it almost feels like she’s holding hands with Laito. A glance over her shoulder reveals that said vampire is following them with a smug, almost knowing, look on his face. Mai grimaces and turns her gaze back to Yui. She tries to force her worries to the back of her mind, but they still refuse to be quiet.

After a short while of weaving between the crowds, they finally arrive in the center of the mall. Yui slows to a halt and begins to search the crowds for Shiro’s familiar face. Mai stands behind Yui, but she finds herself staring intently at the side of her friend’s instead of searching. Unfortunately, this turns out to be a mistake. She doesn’t have time to react to the cry of “M-Neko-chan!” from behind her. In fact, she doesn’t even have time to step aside or even look over her shoulder. A cold, solid body collides hard with Mai’s back. Kou’s arms wrap around Yui and jerks her backwards into Mai’s body, forcing the air from their lungs in an awkward, strangled cough. Unfortunately, Kou leans his head over Mai’s shoulder in order to nuzzle Yui’s neck, and he lets out a giggle of excitement. Mai shudders when she feels the sound make his chest vibrate. She tries to move, but Kou acts like a constrictor. Every time Mai moves, he tightens his grip on the two girls. Yui protests loudly, and Mai swears she can hear her own bones groaning under the pressure. That isn’t even the scariest part. The scary part is it feels like her body temperature is dropping.

Finally, a much welcomed voice finally intervenes. “Kou! Don’t run off like that! Good god, let them go! Mai is turning blue!”

An incredibly warm hand grabs her wounded elbow, but she doesn’t even have enough breath to hiss in pain. All she manages to do is open her mouth a little in a silent cry of pain. To her absolute relief, the pressure disappears, and her body is jerked away from the two cold bodies. Her face collides with a solid chest. She gasps in a deep greedy breath, and she wants nothing more than for it to be a sweet one. Unfortunately, it’s not. It’s not terrible, but she finds that she just doesn’t care for the mixture of spices and light sweat. Still, her body feels too heavy to move, so she has no choice but to lean against the source and gasp soft breathes until her body finally decides that it can move. Once she has the energy, she pulls away and glance up to find Shiro glancing down at her. She opens her mouth to thank him, but he ruins the moment by releasing her only to reach out and ruffle her hair.

She growls at him, but a loud voice echos through the crowded building. “Food! Food! Food!”

She feels embarrassment welling up in the pit of her stomach. She glances around to find people giving them a variety of looks ranging from disappointment and irritation to amusement and genuine interest. Her attention lands on Kou. It looks like he’s trying to use glasses and a hat to disguise himself, but Mai feels like he’s doing a bad job of hiding from his fans by loudly chanting food. Finally, the embarrassment becomes too much, and she lunges at Kou. She firmly places her hand against his mouth, finally halting his cries for food. The moment his eyes narrow and flick to meet hers, she hisses in a barely audible voice. “Be quiet! We’re going to get some food now.”

To her surprise, he doesn’t do anything to try to remove her hand from his mouth. Beneath her hand, she can feel his mouth twisting into a smile. A smug look settles over his face. Frustration fills her body for only a moment before amusement quickly smothers it. She has an idea to wipe the smug look off his face. She pulls her hand away and forces a look of fake affection onto her face. She reaches out to gently pat his shoulder and says in a slow, soft voice. “Ah, but to earn the right to get food, you have to be quiet.”

She doesn’t give him chance to respond, since she quickly spins on her heel and calls loudly. “Onward!”

Without a glance back to see if anyone is following, she dives straight into the crowd and makes her way toward the food court. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long for them to arrive and decide what fast food restaurant they want to eat at. As an awkward group, they fall into line. An uncomfortable silence settles over them, and Mai finds herself observing the milling crowds around them. A sense of longing hits her hard while she watches a group of four girls around her age walking past with hands full of bags. Their faces were bright, and they were laughing about something. Families with kids of all ages are wondering around. Some look irritated; some look like they are having fun. The more she looks around at normal life, the more she realizes that she didn’t just miss having a normal life. She misses the times she spent with her parents. She misses the random fights they get in. She misses the praises and the looks of pride.

There is so much she misses. A lump forms in her throat at just the thought, and she feels a tingling sensation at the back of her eyes. She swallows hard and tightens her hands into fists.

Without warning, a breath puffs against the small cuts on the back of her head. She flinches away, accidentally bumping into Laito. She hears a chuckle from him, but she doesn’t bother looking in his direction. Her gaze snaps around to meet calm, grey eyes that are much closer than she expected them to be. He must have almost had his nose in her hair. Her body tenses, and a rush of emotions flood her body. She isn’t sure if she’s just curious as to when Azusa had moved closer to her or appalled that he’s so close that he’s practically touching her. Unconsciously, she presses her side against Laito’s body. She hasn’t interacted much with Azusa, so she isn’t entirely sure how he behaves. Kou is loud, obnoxious, and hard to handle. The few times she has been around Yuma, she found him to be incredibly threatening and rough. Azusa doesn’t fall in line with his two brothers. He always seemed so quiet that it’s unnerving.

“Were….you…..hurt?” Azusa asks blankly. Chills race down Mai’s spine. Of course he could smell her wounds. He is a vampire after all. She flinches when Laito seems to step away from her. She reluctantly tears her gaze away from the unnerving vampire to look at Laito, only to find the line had moved forward. Kou has drug Yui to the front of the group. Shiro and Laito has fallen into step behind them. To Mai’s surprise, they look completely relaxed. While she watches, Shiro turns his attention to Laito and seems to start a conversation. Mai takes a couple quick steps after them. Her body stiffens when something brushes her arm. Her gaze turns to find Azusa is once again in her personal bubble. She clenches her hands into fists once more and takes a step away. Unfortunately, a cold hand wraps around her injured wrist. She lets out a small sound of pain and turns a furious look on Azusa. For a moment, she thinks she can see something flash through his usually blank eyes, but she isn’t a hundred percent sure what it is. Without warning, Azusa’s face seems to appear only inches from hers. She jerks back, but she stops when his eyes drop to the bandage she had clumsily wrapped. His voice is barely audible through the drone of the crowd. “You…..are…..like...me.”

She’s not sure what that means until she notices that the bandage the familiar had wrapped is on the same arm as his. She tries to think of something to say, but her mind goes blank. With mounting unease, she watches him unwrap the bandage around her wrist. She isn’t sure when he had grabbed her hand in a gentle hold. She flinches a little when she sees the deep bruise on her skin from Laito’s hand. Unease fills her stomach when his thumb brushes over it, and she rips her arm away from him. Her gaze lifts to glare at his face, but the words of warning die in her throat when she sees a slightly puzzled look on his face. Thankfully, she doesn’t get time to dwell on the fact, since they had finally made it to the front of the line at this point. She turns her attention to the menu to decide what she wants to eat. She feels bad for the cashier when Laito, Shiro, and Kou all order at once. Finally, they get their orders down, and Mai ends up paying. Once she is done, she wanders toward the table that the others had chosen. Her gaze moves around the tables she passes before her gaze lands on her group.

Her feet slow to a stop, and she finds herself watching them. There’s an open chair between Azusa and Shiro that she assumes is her spot. Her heart skips a beat while she watches them converse. It looks like Shiro is laughing at something either Kou or Laito was saying. Mai isn’t sure what Yui’s doing since her friend is facing away. Azusa seems to be lightly picking at his own bandages. Mai’s hand suddenly falls onto the bruise and begins to gently rub it. All at once her wounds give a painful throb, but it still doesn’t stop her from thinking of her ‘friends’.

They look almost normal. They look like friends; like the ones wandering the mall. Wasn’t that what she wanted the most out of this trip? To feel normal once more? A warm feeling starts in the pit of her stomach and spreads through her chest. It feels like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders. Just this once, she feels like she can let go and relax.

A smile spreads over her face, and she quickly makes her way to join the group. To her relief, it seems like Laito and Shiro are trading jokes. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices that her bruise is now clearly visible. Without a second thought, she slips her arm into her lap. When their food arrives, she easily eats with the other one. It doesn’t take long for the boys to grow louder as they talk, aside from Azusa. A soft call of her name interrupts her laughter at the boys’ antics. Her gaze turns to look across the table at Yui. She has a frown on her face and lightly gestures toward Mai’s other side. Mai’s eyes drift over to observe Azusa, who seems to be staring blankly at his still untouched food. Despite herself, she can feel a small knot of worry bubble up. She glances across the table to see that Kou had eaten all of his food. In fact, he has been stealing pieces off Laito’s plate when the red haired vampire becomes preoccupied with something Shiro says. Mai turns her gaze back to find Yui’s red eyes full of concern. After a silent staring contest, Mai flinches. It feels like Yui is silently urging Mai to check on the dark haired vampire. With a breath to steady her sudden spike in nerves, she turns her attention back to Azusa. It takes her a moment, but she finally leans closer to the vampire in order to ask softly. “Are you alright?”

After a few seconds, he lifts his gaze to meet hers. His gaze is just as blank as before, which causes a sense of unease to well up in the pit of her stomach. She swallows hard, forces a smile on her face, and says the first thing she can think of. “Do you not like your food?”

“No,” he states blankly and turns his gaze back to his food. Unnerved, Mai casts a worried glance in Yui’s direction before turning back to the vampire beside her just as Laito, Kou, and Shiro laugh at something Kou said.

“Ehhhh….. Well, do you want to order something else?” Mai asks. Frustration starts to build when she watches him simply shake his head. His blank gaze lifts to meet hers once more, and she has to force herself to smile kindly. 

“Don’t worry about him,” Kou suddenly states around a mouthful of food that Mai unfortunately notices is from her own plate. She casts him a dark look that’s a mixture of disgust and frustration. She pulls her plate closer to her body and leans over it. Kou scoffs at her and rolls his eyes before reaching over to affectionately ruffle Azusa’s hair, drawing a blank gaze from the dark haired vampire. Kou says playfully, “He’s probably not very hungry. He really doesn’t eat that much.”

“Doesn’t that concern you?” Mai asks while observing the two of them. She’ll never admit it, but it’s nice to see brothers behaving in what she assumes is a brotherly way.

“Nope!” Kou playfully states. “Besides that’s Ruki’s job.”

Confusion fills her chest, and she glances at Yui, who gives her a small shrug of her shoulders. Kou’s face seems to light up when he notices the exchange. He gives the two a playful look and clears his throat. The smile melts from his face, and he gives them both a long, serious look. In a dark voice, he says, “Ruki is the best. He’s the oldest of us, and he keeps track of the petty stuff.”

Mai can feel her eyes narrowing the more Kou talks. Irritation begins to build in the pit of her stomach, but it quickly becomes smothered in disgust at how little he seems to care for his own brother. Her hands fall to her lap and begin to shake in anger. How foolish can she get? Of course they aren’t like normal brothers! There is nothing remotely normal about vampires. Her disgust changes from Kou to herself. She wanted to pretend everything’s normal, but it isn’t. She lets out a shuddering breath, but she quickly sucks it back in when pain races up her arm. Her eyes snap open, only to meet with concerned red ones. She jumps when noise crashes around her, and panic wells up into her throat. She had been so out of it that she blocked everything else out. Her gaze drops to find that she had linked her hands tightly together, with her nails digging painfully into the backs of her hands.

“Hey, Mai. How did you get hurt?” Shiro suddenly asks softly. Something about the way he says it sends shivers down Mai’s spine. She lifts her gaze to look at him. He appears to be wearing a look of genuine concern. She swallows hard and quickly turns her gaze away from him. He had spoken so gently, but it feels like there is an underlying threat. Her body starts to shake until her eyes meet with another pair of concerned eyes, only these ones are red. Before Mai gives the idea much thought, she jumps up and slams her hands onto the table. She’s completely aware that she got the attention of everyone around them, along with a soft gasp of surprise from Yui. Mai forces a smile onto her face.

“This is a mall! We should go shopping to our heart’s content!” Mai punctuates by lightly punching the air over her head. Once again, she doesn’t wait for them to answer her, instead she steps back. She bumps her chair, but she simply uses her leg to shove it out of the way and turns to hurry away from the table. She’s determined to have a good day out even if it is spent with abnormal people. She hears her name being called from behind her, but she doesn’t turn to look, though she does feels a hint of guilt at not cleaning up her mess. A good shake of her head helps to clear that thought from her mind. She dives into the first store she comes across. Thankfully, it’s a clothing store, so she’s able to hide behind the racks of clothing and catch her breath for a few moments. She also uses this time to try to clear her mind before being confronted by her group again. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last long, since the vampires are able to easily find her. The first to do so is Laito, who seems to materialize beside her. She’s faintly aware that she doesn’t even flinch anymore. Her eyes simply lift to meet his amused, green gaze. Without warning, his face is only inches from hers.

Everything seems to happen in slow motion. She can feel his cold breath on her lips and lower face. His eyes remain locked with hers, and she finds that she can’t breath anymore. Every muscle in her body starts to protest at how tense she is. A soft noise beside her head may as well have been an explosion. She flinches away and rips her gaze away from him to find that he had only pulled a hanger off the rack beside her, though she doesn’t remember turning to face him. Her heart starts to race wildly, and her face floods a deep red color. The heat of embarrassment runs all the way to her stomach, making her feel hollow. Did she really expect him to kiss her? She turns her gaze to look at the clothes. Unfortunately, she can’t find a single piece of women’s clothing. It’s just her luck that she’d run into a male clothing store.

“I didn’t know you were so excited to help me find new clothes, sweetheart,” Laito playfully coos at her. Her gaze snaps back to him, and she barely represses a snarl. He steps away and turns his gaze to the pair of pants he had chosen. A thoughtful look spreads over his face. After a moment of silence, his gaze slowly returns to hers. He gives her an almost innocent smile. His head tilts to the side and the smile melts away from his face. Panic sets in, and Mai feels like her tongue is made out of lead. Finally, after a few seconds of tense silence, he says, “Did you want to help me take off my clothes, too?”

The grin returns to his face, while Mai lets out a sound of disgust at the same time. Thankfully, Kou appears after only a few more seconds and gives the pair of pants that Laito is holding a disgusted look. Without missing a beat, Kou asks, “do your servants dress you? There is no way that you can with that hideous pair of pants you are holding onto.”

Mai uses the ensuing argument to slip away from the two. Thankfully, she’s able to quickly find Yui just as she is walking from the direction of their table. Guilt fills Mai once more, since she’s sure that Yui’s too nice to leave a mess behind. Mai forces a smile onto her face and says. “Shall we do a girl’s day out and dodge the boys while we are at it?”

To her relief, Yui nods eagerly, and the two quickly slip into to the next female clothing store they come across. Much to Mai’s relief, Yui doesn’t mention Mai’s odd behavior, so she returns the favor by not mentioning Yui’s obvious changes. The day begins to pass by like Mai was hoping it would. The vampires and Shiro seem to have disappeared. Mai knew that she should feel guilty about ditching Shiro, but she finds it hard to even think about him. Before Mai realizes it, she’s spent her entire allowance, but she doesn’t mind. She’s having fun.

The day seems to pass by even fast after she spends her money. Mai and Yui drop by to get drinks, which Yui pays for. Yui ends up not drinking hers, but Mai doesn’t dwell on it much. They jump from silly topics like what their favorite class is to which boy in their grade they thought was attractive. Mai playfully threatened to beat Yui up if she stated a Sakamaki name. To Mai’s relief, her friend willingly played along.

Just as they are exiting the food court once again, Mai hears her name being called. She stops and glances around until she finds Shiro making his way toward them with a serious look on his face. Thankfully, the look eases when he gets closer. He gives Yui a friendly look and says, “Hey, it seems we lost Azusa somewhere along the way. Do you mind running back to that table we were sitting at and seeing if he’s wandered back there.”

A look of concern flashes over the blonde’s face, and she bolts away without another word. A hint of concern fills Mai’s stomach, but the thought disappears when Shiro takes a step toward her. Her gaze snaps up from the direction the blonde bolted and meets the his serious gaze. A shudder runs down her spine. She’s not sure why, but she can’t help but feel afraid of Shiro for the moment. Something seems….off about him. The uncomfortable silence continues to stretch between them. She flinches when Shiro closes the distance until only a dozen or so inches separates them. She has to fight the urge to shrink away. Unfortunately, Shiro seems to notice her internal struggle, and a dark look passes over his face for a brief moment. His breath rushes from his mouth in the form of a sigh. One of his hands lift to delve into his hair, and he turns his sharp gaze away from her. She feels guilty, but her body starts to relax once she is no longer under scrutiny.

“You can trust me you know,” Shiro mutters softly. He says something under his breath, but she isn’t able to make sense of the words. In fact, the only one that she actually hears is the word ‘vampires’.

It feels like a bucket of cold water has suddenly been poured over her. Her gaze snaps around, since she’s positive that she’d see one of the women. She’s not sure if she’s more surprised or relieved to find that they don’t appear. Something warm lightly touches her uninjured forearm, and she immediately jerks away. Her gaze snaps back around to meet a dark look that quickly changes to concern. She finds herself wrapping her arms around her stomach, since she feels like she’s going to be sick. The longer she looks into his concerned eyes, the more she wants to believe that the dark look was just her imagination. She finally tears her gaze away and stares at the floor between her feet with great interest. She needed to tell someone what has been going on, or she’s sure that she’ll go insane. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to steady her nerves. She slowly lifts her gaze and looks directly at Shiro with all the strength she can muster.

“We have to talk. Preferably alone.”

He doesn’t even hesitate. Instead, he simply gives her a nod and reaches out to grab her elbow. She finds that she no longer has the strength to argue. In fact, she can feel herself starting to zone out while he leads her away from the busy food court. Finally, they arrive at a small area that has couches. Thankfully, it’s void of anyone, so they sit together on one of the couches. Unfortunately, Mai still hasn’t figured out how to start, so they sit in silence for a few minutes while she scrambles for something to say. Shiro’s the first to talk. His voice is gentle, encouraging almost. “Yui seems better.”

Mai is incredibly thankful that he’s the one who broke the silence. It’ll be much easier for her to start talking now. At least, it feels like it will be. She lets out an affirmative noise. He grunts in response. It seems like he senses her silent plea that he keeps talking, since he asks. “Does she seem different to you?”

Mai’s gaze remains locked onto her lap. She’s starting to second guess her choice to tell him. What if he thought she was crazy? No sane person believed in vampires. Hell, she didn’t even believe in them until that night that Laito had broken into her house and drank her blood on her stairs. With a deep breath, she decides to just jump into the story from the beginning and not leave anything out. She tells him of the time that Yui transferred in. It seems like years ago, but it was only months. Mai continues on to the pranks, and she tells him about Yui believing in vampires. She quickly moves on to tell him that she thought Yui was crazy at first. That thought changed when Laito had appeared that fateful day. The day he had bitten her for the first time. She stares hard at her hands which had formed painful fists on her knees. She’s faintly aware of her vision swimming with tears. Her voice starts to come out faster as she tells him about her run ins with Kanato and Reiji. She tells him how terrified of those two she is. She explains how hurt she is that she had lost her friendship with Subaru, even if he was never really nice to her. She isn’t sure why, but she valued it.

She pulls her legs up onto the couch and hugs them tight. She buries her face in her knees. For a moment, she wonders if he could even hear her, but she finds that she doesn’t care anymore. She probably isn’t making much sense anyway. Her voice is cracking and watery. The tears start to leave her eyes when she recounts all the times she argued with Ayato, though not much came from those. She can feel a small smile start to spread over her face. She tells Shiro that she’s sure that she would have came out worse for wear if it hadn’t been for Yui handling Ayato’s temper. An empty feeling starts to spread through her stomach, and the tears start to come faster. She numbly states that she didn’t realize how much she depends on the blonde and wonders aloud if the blonde felt the same way.

Shiro stays silent, and Mai’s too afraid to look over at him, so she pushes on to tell him about all the awkward situations that seem to have turned into some sort of weird friendship with Shuu, though she’s not sure if he feels the same way. In fact, she’s not really sure of anything when it comes to the lazy blond vampire. She switches subjects once again to tell him about the women she has been seeing. She doesn’t want to leave anything out, and it feels like she can’t stop talking. In fact, she’s not sure when she had switched to every time she had been with Laito, but she finds herself telling him everything. Embarrassment and numbness seem to be fighting deep in her heart when she gets to the part where she lost her virginity. She finally falls silent. She stares at the back of her knees in silence. It feels like a million pounds now rests on her chest. She had been hoping to relieve some of the stress, but it feels like she’s just added even more. She closes her eyes tightly and lets the tears run down her face. She feels even more vulnerable than she ever did with Laito. Finally, a warm arm comes to rest over her shoulder. She feels a light tug and doesn’t resist. Instead, she leans over into him.

He doesn’t say a word to her. Instead, he simply lets her lean against him and cry. Instead of helping, it makes Mai feel even worse. She should have been there for Yui. She should have done this when Yui told her about her living situation. Instead, she had berated her. Guilt coats the back of her throat, making it feel like she is suffocating. Finally, Shiro breaks the silence. His voice is soft, gentle almost. “Do you need help?”

Mai slowly pulls away from him and lets her feet fall to the floor. She lifts her gaze to look up at him. He offers her a small smile before turning his gaze toward the crowd milling about around them, so Mai turns her gaze back to her lap. She mutters softly. “I don’t know. Do you believe me though? I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true.”

He lets out a soft snort and says, “You know, there are plenty of people that believe vampires are real. I’m not saying they aren’t. After all, there are a lot of people who claim to be them, even going so far as to drink blood. Or at least, I think they do.”

A warm hand lands on the top of her head. It ruffles her hair, and she feels a hint of annoyance at the action. She reaches up to swat his hand away and proceeds to fix her hair. He gives her a playful shoulder shove and says. “You aren’t crazy. Weird maybe, but not crazy.”

She doesn’t fight the smile from tugging at her lips, and she rolls her eyes. She can't help but feel grateful that he’s trying to make her smile. She glances back at him with silent contemplation. He’s so easy to talk to that is seems almost surreal. This is just how she imagined having a sibling would be like. A serious look overtakes his face, and his eyes turn to catch hers. She’s startled by the frown, and a feeling of dread fills her stomach. She has a feeling that he’s going to say something heavy.

“Laito concerns me though. He pushes too far,” he says in a cold voice. “He’s…. Manipulative. It’s obvious from what you’ve told me. He’s a spoiled rich kid that takes what he wants. In fact, they all sound that way. Even the ones that you consider to be friends.”

She jumps when he stands suddenly. He moves to stand directly in front of her and looks down at her. She has to crane her head back to look up at him. He gives her a serious look. His voice is barely audible. “You feel trapped by what his family has done to yours. They’ve given your family so much, but at what cost? He has taken everything you hold dear away from you, but when you stray too far, he’s sweet to you. Don’t you see what he’s doing?”

Mai immediately tears her gaze away. Her mouth has gone dry, and she finds that she doesn’t want to hear what else he has to say. She wraps her arms around herself, as if it’ll protect her from what he plans to say next. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. His hands wrap around her upper arms, and she finds herself being drug to her feet. Her startled gaze snaps back to him. His face is a mixture of concern and seriousness. “He’s giving you something like Stockholm Syndrome. You feel like you can’t escape, and maybe you can’t. But, I have a question for you. Have you even tried?”

Mai’s eyes drift away from him. She doesn’t want to answer that.

No.

It’s more like she can’t answer it.

She stubbornly tells herself that he’s wrong. She simply can’t get away from Laito. He’ll find her no matter how far she tried to run. His family’s so influential that she isn’t even sure that she would be able to even leave the country. There’s also a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach whenever she even thinks of leaving. It makes her feel cold. She licks her lips lightly and says. “I can’t just abandon Yui.”

Shiro lets out something that sounds like a scoff and a snarl rolled into one. He gives her a light shake and says. “You can’t be serious. She’s just like them now.”

Mai’s gaze sharpens, and suspicion fills the pit of her stomach, but she tries to keep it off her face. She softly says. “Yui’s a sweet girl.”

Shiro’s eyes narrow before he releases her and takes a step back. Mai’s heart skips a beat, but she doesn’t say anything. Thankfully, Shiro fills the silence. “You know that she’s keeping you there. She’s just as free to run away as you are, but she’s in love with one of them now. She’s trapping you just as much as they are. I care for the girl, but I think that she’s too far gone. I don’t think that you can save. I can’t save her, but I can still save you.”

Mai feels like his words are just a cover up, but she doesn’t get a chance to ask him anything else. He just states in a rush. “Listen, Mai. You and Yui are like the little sisters I always wanted, but I didn’t get. I just want to help the two of you out, but I think it’s too late for her. I have to cut my losses. I can still save you though, so you just have to listen to me. I know my family can protect you and your parents. All you have to do is trust me.”

Mai opens her mouth, but she doesn’t get a chance to say anything. A hand wraps painfully around her upper arm, and she feels herself being pulled roughly away from Shiro. She stumbles, banging her leg on a chair that was closer than she realized. Just before her shoulder connects with a cold body, she spots what appears to be red hair and green eyes, but she didn’t get a good look. Her heart skips a beat before she realizes that it’s not Laito. The clothes were all wrong, and it isn’t his cologne she’s smelling.

Full blown panic sets in, and her gaze snaps up to meet what can only be described as furious, glowing green eyes. The hand tightens to the point that it feels like her arm might break. She lets out a hiss of pain. Unfortunately, this just seems to anger him even more. Before anyone can react, she finds herself being violently shaken. In fact, she still feels incredibly dizzy when he finally stops shaking her. She’s faintly aware of Shiro snapping something at Ayato, but it’s lost due to Ayato’s voice being shouted directly into her ear. “Shut the fuck up, asshole! This is none of your concern!”

She takes this chance to look back up at him just as he looks back down at her. His cold, glowing eyes make it feel like her blood has turned to ice. She can only stare numbly at him while he questions harshly. “Where is she?”

She feels a warm hand grabbing her shoulder, but she’s jerked away from it only moments later. The sound of something being smacked rings out. Mai glances around to see that plenty of people have now stopped to watch the spectacle. She wants to feel embarrassed, but she finds that she feels sick to her stomach. It’s made even worse when Ayato spins her out of Shiro’s reach when he touches her a second time. Ayato snaps coldly. “Don’t fucking touch her, bastard! Yours Truly has questions, and she is going to damn well answer them!”

“Ayato,” Mai mutters. A lump is forming in her throat, making it hard to breathe. She wants him to let her go, but it’s hard to think of anything other than the pain in her upper arms. “Please. You’re hurting me.”

“Let her go!” Shiro snarls in a voice that Mai doesn’t recognize. In fact, she can’t ever remember seeing him this angry. “You’re hurting her! Look at her!”

“Who cares! She took something that belongs to Yours Truly, and she is going to pay the price!”

“Hey!” A third voice cuts in from somewhere in the crowd. It’s enough to get Mai’s attention, but the boys fail to even care. Shiro lunges at Ayato in an effort to free Mai. Unfortunately, that just makes Ayato jerk Mai out of his reach. In response, Ayato’s grip gets tighter every single time he pulls her out of Shiro’s reach. Mai groans in the back of her throat. Sadly, it goes unnoticed. By that time, the owner of the third voice has appeared. He is dressed in what appears to be a cop outfit. Upon second glance, Mai realizes that it’s really a security guard outfit. She reaches out to grab the security guard, so she can ask for help. Somehow, he seems to know what she is thinking. A warm hand wraps around her bandaged one, and she is ripped away from Ayato. It seems like more security guards come out of nowhere. They put themselves between the two boys, and Mai’s being lead numbly through the crowds with a firm hand on her shoulder. For a brief moment, she’s grateful that she’s been saved from being dragged into a fight, but then she notices the direction she is being lead. Her heart leaps into her throat, and her feet stop moving. A soft nudge from behind makes her take a couple of steps forward, but she quickly spins to look up at the security guard. In a rush, she says, “I didn’t do anything wrong!”

The security guard regards her with a sharp gaze. After a few moments of silence, he releases a sigh and says in a slightly monotone voice. “I understand that; however, you and your friends were creating chaos. There are rules here you know. I don’t care what the fight was about, but this place is crowded. You do understand what happens when panic is introduced to a large crowd, don’t you?”

She grits her teeth and starts to say between clenched teeth. “I don’t understand how we would incite pan-”

He gives her shoulder a slightly rougher shove this time and cuts her off. “I don’t particularly care if you don’t understand. You and your friends were creating a scene. If you’d like to meet up with them walk around the outside of the mall. They are being led to different exits. Just be lucky you three are getting off easy this time. We aren’t in the mood to call the police and deal with a report on three rowdy teenagers.”

Mai considers arguing, but the security guard’s face had morphed into one with complete authority. Still, she can’t help but roll her eyes, spin on her heel, and stomp out of the doors. She’s aware that the guard follows her all the way to the door. Once she steps outside, she turns around, makes a rude gesture at the guard’s back, and sticks her tongue out. Soft laughter from behind causes her to jump and spin around. She fully expects the culprit to be Laito, but she’s surprised to lock eyes with Kou instead. Her body stiffens, and she can barely fight the blush from creeping onto her face. She doesn’t really know Kou very well, so it feels like she just made a fool of herself in front of a stranger. She casts a quick glance around the parking lot. Thankfully, there are plenty of people heading to and from their cars, but she doesn’t see Yui or the others. Fear coats the back of her mouth, and she quickly turns her gaze toward Kou. A shudder runs down her spine when she realizes that she’s alone with him. Thankfully, he hasn’t moved toward her. Instead, he seems to be content just staring at her.

After a couple of awkwardly silent minutes tick by, Mai finally decides to break it. “So, what are you doing out here?”

She slowly makes her way over to a nearby bench and lets herself collapse onto it. She leans back and glances down at the bruise on her wrist. The silence continues, but Mai finds that it’s not nearly as awkward as before. She can hear teenagers laughing from not far away, but she can’t make out any words. She lets her head fall back. For a moment, she realizes just how reckless she is being. She is so easily exposing the front of her throat to a vampire, but she finds that she doesn’t really care that much. She releases a long, slow breath. All the muscles start to relax in her body. The sun warms her skin, and she faintly wonders when she had started to feel so cold all the time. For a brief moment, she wonders if this a dream like last time, though she quickly shoves the thought away.

This would classify as a nightmare. After all, she was just kicked out of a mall because of her ‘friends’. She slowly opens her eyes to stare up at the sky. Clouds slowly drift by, and she can’t help the smile from spreading over her face. If she thought really hard, she could see shapes in the clouds like she use to do as a child.

She spots movement out of the corner of her eye and turns her gaze in that direction. To her surprise, Kou has taken a seat at the opposite end of the bench and is mirroring her actions. She frowns for a moment, but she decides not to dwell on it. She just wants to enjoy this moment before one of the triplets, Shiro, or even Yui appears. She turns her gaze back up at the sky. The silence shows no end in sight, so Mai releases a yawn and relaxes further into the bench. The action seems to trigger something in her silent companion.

“Do you like the sky?”

She takes a moment to think over the question. Finally, she lifts one shoulder in a half shrug before saying. “I think I like the sun better.”

He makes a grunting noise, but she doesn’t dwell on it. She finds it incredibly easy to talk at the moment. In fact, it feels almost normal. “I spent days like this with my dad. We would lay in the grass at our house and see if we could come up with stories based on what shapes we saw in the clouds. It was stupid, but it was a lot of fun at the time. The thing I remember most about those days is the sounds of birds singing and how warm the sun felt on my skin.”

She lifts her arms straight up and arches her back awkwardly in order to stretch some muscles. She shifts her body to stretch different ones. The comfortable silence settles once more. Just when she considers breaking it, Kou surprises her by doing it. “That’s stupid.”

Mai scoffs and rolls her eyes. She forces her body to sit up and turns her gaze to observe him. He’s slouching so his head is resting on the back portion of the bench. A look of irritation, and a few other emotions, color his face. They disappear behind a smirk when he notices her stare. He rights himself back up and returns it. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get a chance to say anything further on the subject, since Kou asks. “What is Yui like?”

The question takes Mai by surprise, and she finds that she can only stare at him in silence for a few moments. Finally, she cautiously says, “Well…. I guess she’s a generally nice person. Too nice if you ask me. She…. Well, she cares about people who don’t give a crap about her.”

Kou leans closer. An odd smirk spreads over his face, and he asks softly, “So, is she significantly attached to anyone?”

“Uh…” Mai flinches at how stupid that sounded. Her gaze turns away from him, and she pretends to give it some serious thought. It isn’t a secret that she seems to love Ayato. For some reason, Mai’s having a hard time telling Kou that. Finally, she simply nods. A soft sound of annoyance pulls her attention back to Kou. She flinches when she feels like something is off. In fact, it feels like he’s looking straight through her. A snarl has taken over his handsome face, and her heart skips a beat. She swears that she saw something glowing between the strands of his hair. She quickly climbs to her feet, but Kou seems to appear directly in front of her. His hands find her upper arms, just below her shoulders. While the grip is tight, it isn’t nearly as painful as Ayato or Laito’s have been. Still, the feeling that he’s looking directly into her soul keeps her from trying to get away or even talking.

“You’re lying! You took too long to answer!”

Mai shudders, but she doesn’t even try to speak. If it had been Kanato or one of the others, she may have stood a chance, but she doesn’t know Kou enough to comfortably say something. Kou’s face moves dangerously close to hers, and she can see his visible eye narrow. He practically snarls, “Are you even really her friend?”

Mai swallows hard. His change in behavior seems a lot like Kanato’s, so perhaps she should just answer his questions like she would if confronted with the purple haired vampire. She says in a stronger voice than she thought she would. “I am her friend.”

He grits his teeth together, causing her to shudder at the sound. Her teeth give a phantom tingle at the thought. His face contorts into one of anger, and he snarls in a soft voice. “No. You have to be lying. We didn’t arrive too late.”

“I do-”

“Shut up!” Kou shouts. He pulls away from her, but she doesn’t get a chance to breath. His fist connects with her jaw before she has a chance to even think of blocking. Thankfully, it isn’t a hard blow, but it’s still enough to knock her off balance. Her legs bump into the bench when she stumbles, and she finds herself sitting on the bench once more. Her gaze doesn’t leave his face. From this angle, she can see underneath the bangs covering his right eye. A shudder runs down her spine when she realizes that his right eye is indeed glowing a much different color than his other eye. Her breath catches in her throat. The feeling that he’s peering into her soul intensifies, so she wraps her arms around herself and hunches over. She feels like she’s going to be sick.

“Pl-” she starts to beg.

“Hey!” A voice calls out. A voice that she never thought she’d be grateful to hear. Thankfully, the feeling of her soul being searched lessens, and she’s able to lift her head. The second her eyes meet furious green ones, she does something that she never thought she’d ever do. She leaps to her feet, shoves past Kou, and lunges at the furious Ayato. A startled look spreads over his face for a moment, but she doesn’t dwell on it. She quickly makes her way around behind him and turns to press her face between his shoulder blades. Her body begins to shake so badly that it feels like she might not be standing much longer. She feels violated in a way that she didn’t know was possible. Her hands bunch up in the back of Ayato’s shirt, and she presses herself closer to him. She’s faintly aware that he’s saying something, but she can’t make out the words. Her breathing and heart beat are so loud in her ears that it easily drowns out every other sound. She feels Ayato jerk away from her. Full blown panic sets in, and her gaze snaps up to meet still angry, green eyes. Suddenly, they start to swim behind a pool of tears. She lets her head drop, and she covers her face with shaking hands, squats down, and rocks back on her heels. A sob rips itself from her throat, and it assists in drowning out all other sounds.

Except one.

It’s a soft voice, almost motherly. It’s hard to make out the words being spoken, but it sounds like the voice is almost saying.

“Shhhh, little human. It’s ok.”

Something cold brushes her back over one of her shoulder blades. She feels a cold body press into her from behind. The only person she can think of it being is Laito. He probably appeared at some point and is trying to ‘comfort’ her. She’ll have to pay for it later, but she doesn’t care at the moment. She just wants to cry. The voice echos over itself before finally becoming suddenly crystal clear. The voice is hauntingly familiar. “This is your chance. You have so many paths before you, but some are becoming harder for you to choose. Do you want to stay with the vampires?”

Mai flinches, but she doesn’t say a word. No. It’s more like she can’t say a word between the sobs, and she has a feeling that she’s the only one who can hear the voice. It feels like time slows to a crawl.

“My dear, you’ll never have a normal life. The things you’ve experienced up to this point will either have to be taken to your grave, or you will be classified as someone who has lost their mind. You can still possibly lead the closest thing to a normal life if you choose the path where you take everything to the grave. It is not too late to go that way, but I do want you to consider that you’ll be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life. You’ll have to leave Yui behind to the mercy of the Sakamaki brothers without an outlet. It may not seem like it, but the King of Vampires did send his brother to follow you, and he does in fact show his face from time to time. Despite not getting along with his brother, Richter will still do as instructed. Laito will also not let go of his playtoy so easily.”

It suddenly feels like cold fingers are running through her hair. An overwhelming stench threatens to make her throw up. She feels what appears to be a breath on her ear, sending chills down her spine. The voice continues. “You will see the demon world all around you, now that you have been exposed. That is one path. The other is to wiggle your way even further into the hearts of a chosen vampire, but that path holds it’s own dangers as well. You will not led an easy life, and you will be playing into Karl Heinz plans. You’ll be at the mercy of your chosen one.”

A chorus of moans echo around her, and she lifts her hands to cover her ears. She leans so far forward that she doubles over. The sound of the voice changes to a different woman. “We have been trying to keep all paths open to you and the newest bride; however, she couldn’t hear us, and you haven’t tried hard enough to heed our warnings. This is the turning point. You can possibly end up like the rest of us.”

Mai’s body starts to feel heavy, but she somehow manages to look up. Surrounding her is a large quantity of women. Instead of being dressed in white, they are dressed in what appears to be casual clothing. No marks or wounds adorn them. They vary in age from around fourteen or fifteen to mid twenties. A feeling of coldness washes over her when she thinks she recognizes one. It was the girl in the bathroom that sent her to the hospital. The girl seems to notice Mai’s gaze. Her eyes close, and she tilts her head to give Mai a sheepish smile.

“You’re finally listening.”

For some unknown reason, she turns her gaze to find a girl who looks to be in her later teens squatting beside her. The world behind the girl seems to be continuing on like normal, but she isn’t overly interested in what is happening around her. The girl has piercing blue eyes and a light brown colored hair. She gives Mai a pleasant smile and reaches out to lay a cold hand on Mai’s shoulder. The cold seeps into Mai and feels like it’s reaching all the way into her bones, despite the clothing that Mai is wearing. She releases a shudder, but the girl begins to talk once more. “We tried to warn you that you were going too far. Perhaps it wasn’t fair of us to scare you, but we couldn’t reach Yui. She has blocked us out completely. We thought we could reach her through you, but we are too late for her. She’s already in the midst of transforming and waking as the bride, but you…”

Her voice is suddenly overlapped with another. One that sends chills down her spine. Amused green eyes seem to appear behind the woman’s head. Mai’s breath halts in her throat, and her eyes widen. She’s positive that she that she didn’t blink, but the girls are already gone. All she finds is Laito. He’s squatting beside her. His cold hand is touching her shoulder. The exact same shoulder the teenage girl had touched her. Mai flinches away from him and quickly brushes his hand away. That’s when the world seems to come alive once more. She can hear laughter and the general buzz of conversation going on around her. The parking lot isn’t as busy as the mall, but there are still stragglers hanging around. A loud voice echos in her ear, drawing her attention upward.

“Yo, bitch! I asked you a question!”

“Stop calling her that, asshole!”

Ayato release an almost animalistic growl in Shiro’s direction. Yui’s soft voice cuts through. “Ayato, please! It wasn’t her fault! Laito is the one who got me.”

“Ah, ah, Little Bitch. It was Sweetheart that asked me to get you,” Laito coos at the petite blonde, who gives him a frustrated look before turning pleading eyes on Ayato. Mai can’t help but roll her eyes when Ayato snaps at Yui to be silent. She hears movement behind her and glances back to find that Azusa is standing closer to her than she feels comfortable with. One arm is held close to his body while the other is lifted to his mouth. His eyes are intently locked onto Yui and Ayato. Yui’s trying to sooth Ayato’s anger, but he isn’t allowing her too. It doesn’t help that Shiro’s making snide comments in Ayato’s direction. Finally, Mai decides enough is enough. She slowly climbs to her feet and states loudly.

“Enough! I asked Laito to get Yui! I hoped it’d get him to leave me the hell alone! I wanted to go out with my friends and have a normal day, but… but…. But…..”

She pauses to give each vampire a cold stare before continuing. “But you all ruin everything you touch. You have no sense of humanity left in any of you. I don’t know if you ever did. Why can’t you guys just let us be humans for once?! We aren’t vampires like you!”

By the end, she is yelling. Her eyes move to look at all the vampires surrounding her. Laito, Kou, and Ayato all seem to be amused by her outburst, while Azusa isn’t even looking at her. His gaze is now locked onto Shiro. Mai’s gaze turns to find Shiro staring at her with a look that seems to be contemplating. Mai turns her attention to see a look of pity on Yui’s face. Bile climbs up the back of her throat, and she swallows hard to keep from actually vomiting. She thought for sure that she is about to be punished for revealing their secret, but they don’t even seem to care.

An arm comes to rest over her shoulder, startling her. She turns her gaze to find Laito’s face so close that she can feel his breath fan over her face. She doesn’t get a chance to recoil from him before he closes the distance and brushes his cold nose over her cheek in an almost loving manner. Mai’s stomach twists, but she can’t tell if it’s disgust or some other emotion. She jerks as far away as she can. Laito simply chuckles before saying. “Well, it looks like Ayato’s here to ruin our fun, so why don’t we all part ways here and head home?”

It feels like he’s talking directly into her ear. She silently wishes Laito would remove his arm from her shoulders. Thankfully, she gets her wishes only seconds later, only it’s short lived. He didn’t pull away from her. Instead, his arm slowly slides down her body to come to rest around her waist. His hand finds a place on her hip just, and she attempts to pull away. Unfortunately, her body is jerked into his, and he leans his head against the side of hers. Unease fills her stomach, and she doubles up her fist in preparation to elbow him just below the ribs. Unfortunately, he squeezes her hip, and she immediately knows it’s a silent threat that she should behave. Still, she considers simply ignoring it, but Shiro pulls her attention in his direction.

“Hey, Mai? You live close by my house. What do you say we walk home together?” Shiro says and reaches out to take her wrist in a tight, but somehow gentle, grasp. Time seems to freeze as the two humans wait for Laito to make his move. To Mai’s surprise, he releases his hold on her and gives her a slightly disturbing smile. He playfully waves to her, and she’s not sure why, but she responds with a wave of her own before being pulled after Shiro. She calls out a ‘see ya later’ to Yui before falling into step beside Shiro, who finally releases her wrist. With every step, guilt starts to gnaw at her stomach, but she refuses to look back.

Finally, she can’t stand it anymore and glances back to find only Yui and Ayato standing there. The comical part of the scene is that Yui has her hands on her hips. Mai can’t stifle the giggle from erupting from her mouth the second she tries to imagine Yui with a stern look on her face. Shiro glances at her and then over his shoulder. He releases a chuckle and says, “She’s such a pushover. I bet that attitude only lasts a few minutes.”

Mai turns back around to focus on the sidewalk before her. She releases an awkward snort, but she tries to ignore it and states. “I don’t know. Yui can be pretty fierce in her own little, quiet way. Especially when it comes to Ayato or Shuu.”

She casts a smile at Shiro, only for it to melt moments later. A dark look had taken over Shiro’s face, and she can’t help the sense of unease from settling in the pit of her stomach. Silence settles between them, and it’s not the usually comfortable one she has become accustomed to while in his company. Finally, she says in a soft voice. “I’m sorry about today.”

“Hm?” Shiro says. Only seconds later, he seems to remember where he is and says in a playful voice. “Oh, it’s fine. I got to see my two friends, even if one of them isn’t normal anymore!”

His elbow lightly bumps into her upper arm, and she forces a grin onto her face before staring intently at the ground before her feet. “Listen, about what I told you today. I’m sorry. I’ve just… been stressed, and I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“Do you love him?”

That question takes her by surprise, and she finds herself abruptly stopping. Her gaze snaps up to look at Shiro, who’s still walking. Finally, he slows to a stop and turns to face her. An overwhelming sense of deja vu spreads over her. How long ago did she ask that very same question to Yui?

“I…..” She’s not sure why she’s hesitating. Finally, she finds her resolve buried deep underneath a sea of emotions and gives Shiro a stern look. “No, I don’t love him. You are talking about Laito, right?”

Shiro gives her a smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. She flinches and forces her legs to start moving. She walks past him with her head held high. After a few tense minutes, he catches up to walk beside her. He mutters something beneath his breath before saying softly. “I didn’t mean to insult you, but he sounds like the worst.”

Mai’s fists slowly clench, but she refrains from saying anything. Shiro continues on to point out every single fault that he has noticed about Laito. Finally, Mai slows to a stop and releases a slow breath and turns to face him. She gives him her best, yet strained smile. “Shiro, I know that you are being a good friend, but you make it sound like I’m dating him. Let me be as clear as I possibly can. I’m not. I don’t like him. I know all about his faults, so you don’t have to list them off.”

While she watches, a soft pink color lights his cheeks for a moment, but it quickly disappears only moments later. He reaches up to run a hand through his hair. “You’re right. You know him better than I do, since he torments you. Sorry about that. I’ll just have to take your word on not liking him.”

He gives her a sheepish grin and changes the subject. Thankfully, they lapse into a friendly conversation that lasts until they arrive at her house. She doesn’t waste any time telling him goodbye before heading in. The second the door opens, an overwhelmingly mouthwatering scent hits her nose. Excitement floods her body, and she shuts the door and rushes toward the kitchen in hopes of finding her mother, both parents if she’s lucky. The second she rounds the corner, her heart stops. Instead of her mother being there, Laito is standing over her stove. Her breath catches in her throat. His hair is wet, and he’s only wearing what appears to be sweats that hang low on his hips. Mai’s breath rushes out of her lungs like she just got punched in the stomach. Without a shred of hesitation, she spins on her heel and starts toward the door. She only gets a few steps before two arms wrap around her waist from behind. She leans forward in an effort to keep from being pulled back into his chest. Unfortunately, he pulls her back and steps forward at the same time. She releases a sigh of pure frustration and relaxes in his grip. Maybe if she just plays along, he’ll get bored. She just has to try to be patient. She forces herself to not flinch when his lips brush the shell of her ear. His voice is low, almost seductive when he says. “I had a lot of fun today.”

She considers telling him it wasn’t a date, but she decides it’s best to opt for silence. He releases a soft whine directly into her ear when she doesn’t respond for a few minutes. His cold tongue begins to slowly traces the sensitive skin just behind her ear. Once again, she somehow manages to successfully not give him what he’s looking for. He releases a soft puff of cold air against the spot he just licked, causing an involuntary shudder to work it’s way throughout her body. He releases a deep chuckle in her ear. His voice is low when he asks, “Where are you going?”

Her resolve finally cracks, and she snaps in a cold voice. “What are you jealous?”

He lets out another chuckle, but this one sounds almost hollow and releases her. His voice sounds more confident that she would have liked. “Of a human? No. He can’t compare to me. Besides, we both know that neither of you have any sort of attraction to the other. Your relationship with that boy is strictly one of innocent friendship.”

Mai can’t stop the smile from creeping onto her face. She steps away from him, but she doesn’t bother turning around. Instead, she says as coldly as she can. “I didn’t say I was going to see Shiro, did I?”

She feels him shift behind her, and she can’t stop herself from saying. “I’m going to see someone else.”

His hands reappear on her waist in a loose grip. His thumbs start to rub slow circles over her hidden skin. He doesn’t say anything, and Mai finds that even more frightening than if he would have. Finally, he pulls away from her once more, but she finds that she isn’t grateful for the loss of contact. She glances over her shoulder to see his back to her while he makes his way back into the kitchen. His voice drifts back with a playful tone. “Your mother left some food for you to cook then heat up for the next few days. Doesn’t it smell simply mouthwatering?”

Mai’s heart sinks, and she unconsciously finds herself following after him while silently wondering why her mother would make a dinner for her to cook and then heat up for a few days. Stubbornly, she reminds herself that this isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last. She was simply reading too much into it. As if reading her mind, Laito says. “My father called them to a conference of some kind overseas. They’ll be gone for a while. They left the information on the table, if you’re curious.”

He casts a flirtatious smirk over his shoulder. Mai returns it with a scowl before taking a seat at the table and reaching out for the note. She scans over it to find that it certainly is her mother’s handwriting. With a sinking heart, she begins to read over it. It just tells her how sorry her parents are that they didn’t get a chance to tell her in person. It was sprung on them last minute. It also has their hotel, room number, and hotel phone number in case their cell phones didn’t work. With a sigh, Mai folds the paper up and slips it into her pocket before settling back into the chair to wait for Laito to finish cooking the food. 

Time seems to drag by, and the room starts to fill with a mouth watering smell that leaves her stomach growling. Despite her best efforts, she finds herself glancing in Laito’s direction more often than she’d like to admit. It seems that he can sense her gaze every time, since he meets her eyes and gives her a playful grin. Finally, the food is done. The silence continues to drag on, even after they begin to eat.

Mai is almost done with her meal when a thought occurs to her. Mid-bite, she wonders if he put anything in the food. After all, he had been left unattended for quite a while. Her eyes lift to meet Laito’s only to find that his food is completely untouched. One of his elbows rests beside his plate, and his chin rests in his palm. A mischievous smirk has spread over his face, and he’s watching her through a half lidded eyes. Her fork falls to the plate with a loud clank. Her stomach gives a painful twist, and she feels as if her body is heating up. Without meaning to, she snarls. “What did you do to the food?”

“Oh?” he playfully asks. “What do you think I did to the food?”

Mai’s eyes close, and she tries to focus on her breathing, but it’s getting increasingly hard to do so with how upset her stomach is feeling. A chuckle causes her to open her eyes and glare across the table at Laito. After a moment of silence, he says. “Is it finally taking full effect?”

“What is it?” Mai asks, only this time it isn’t a snarl. She hates to admit it, but she has a pleading edge to her voice now.

Laito lets out a chuckle and lifts his gaze away from hers. A thoughtful look overtakes his face, and he releases a humming noise before saying. “There are so many things I could have used. After all, I just have to ask Reiji. He has things that could kill a human within hours or days. There’s a couple that can make them violently sick for days, weeks, or months. There are ones to entice sexual frustration. Oh, the possibilities!”

He lets out another chuckle and returns his green gaze to Mai. His head tilts to the side a little, and he gives her an innocent look. “Most of which would require an antidote of sorts.”

Mai’s hands find the edges of the table, and she grips it so tightly that her knuckles turn white. Her stomach twists painfully once again, and she feels like all the food is sitting heavy in the bottom her stomach. She closes her eyes tightly and wraps an arm around her abdomen. Had he poisoned her? She clenches her eyes closed in pain. It suddenly feels like the room is a hundred degrees. She can feel sweat slowly working its way down her face and along her spine. Her stomach twists painfully once again, as if reminding her that it was there. Without thinking, she leaps to her feet. She hears the chair fall back and land with a cracking sound, but she doesn’t care. She’s already sprinting toward the bathroom that’s attached to her room. She barely makes it in time to vomit all of the food she had just eaten. It feels and tastes horrible, since none of it even had a chance to digest. It feels like hours pass while she dry heaves and vomits into the toilet. Her abdominal muscles are practically screaming in pain when the whole ordeal is over. She pants heavily before slowly collapsing in front of the toilet. She wants to get up and wash her mouth out, but her body suddenly feels so weak that she can’t move. In fact, it feels like an eternity passes before an infuriating voice cuts through her gasping breaths. “Have you figured it out yet?”

She reluctantly forces her body to sit up. She flinches when her muscles clench painfully. She closes the lid of the toilet and flushes it before using it to climb unsteadily to her feet. Once she is upright, she slowly moves her way to the sink and proceeds to clean her mouth out. She’s determined to ignore Laito. Unfortunately, he doesn’t allow her that luxury. She stoops over to spit out another mouthful of disgusting water when cold fingers gently rake through her hair. She flinches, and her head snaps up. Her eyes lock with green ones in the mirror. He gives her that infuriatingly playful smile of his, and she has to fight the urge to smack it off his face. She stoops once more to gather more water into her mouth, only she’s careful to not let him out of her sight while she does so. Finally, her mouth starts to taste somewhat reasonable, though she ends up brushing them a couple of times. Finally, the silence starts to bother her, and Laito’s blocking the only exit. She finally turns her undivided, completely furious attention on the red haired vampire. Just as her eyes meet his once more, his fingers suddenly brush her jaw, making her flinch away and retreat further into the bathroom. He simply follows and leans closer to her, but she instinctively recoils, which just causes his smirk to grow even wider. He finally straightens and says only one confusing word. “Ipecac.”

“What?” She asks. The word sounds familiar, but she can’t quite place it in her frustration. Unfortunately, it just to furthers his amusement. Once more, he repeats a single word.

“Ipecac.”

She releases a frustrated sigh and settles for staring at him. Finally, he decides to give in and explains. “Ipecac is used to induce vomiting. In large doses, it can be fatal.”

Her muscles tense, and a sense of unease spreads over her. She swallows hard, but she can’t bring herself to ask him how much he used. Unfortunately, this seems to be part of his game, since he playfully says. “Oh, silly humans. You have so many poisons in arms reach at all times. In fact, there are so many poisons that you can buy from even a grocery store. It’s no wonder your species doesn’t live long!”

“How….much….did… you….use?” Mai hesitantly asks. Laito tilts his head once more and gives her an innocent look. After a few tense minutes, a look of mock understanding takes over his face. He even snaps his fingers, causing Mai to jump.

“Ah, you’re asking how much ipecac I put in your food? Well.” His finger lifts to lightly tap his chin. “I’d say just enough to make you throw up. Definitely not enough to kill you.”

Despite the fact that she knew she should be angry with him, she feels like a huge weight has been lifted off her shoulders. At least she won’t die a horrible death. The relief is short lived, and a feeling of rage starts to warm her stomach. Her eyes narrow, and she slowly turns to fully face him. Her abdominal muscles cry out, and she flinches. She refuses to wrap an arm around her stomach, though. She slowly makes her way toward Laito, who’s amused green eyes were locked onto hers. A sense of hesitation starts to well up in her stomach, but she doesn’t let that deter her either. In fact, she doesn’t stop until her body is inches from his. His infuriating smirk only seems to grow, and that serves to fuel her anger towards him. With a low, almost growl, she asks, “What is your problem?”

He lets out a soft scoff, though it sounds more playful than frustrated. His breath cools her face when he says just above a whisper. “You are mine. I don’t remember giving you permission to play with others, and you didn’t invite me in on the fun.”

Mai recoils a little, but her eyes narrow. She can’t stop herself from snapping. “Look, I made plans with Shiro, not Kou and Azusa. I didn’t even know they were going to be there!”

The smile slowly melts off Laito’s face, and Mai’s heart starts to sink. It isn’t often that she saw him without some sort of playful expression. In fact, she finds herself starting to shake as fear builds. All the amusement is gone from his voice when he darkly says, “I don’t care about some human or third rate vampires. They are not any competition.”

She tries to stop herself from shaking, but she’s unsuccessful. Without much thought, she says, “That doesn’t give you much right to poison me.”

A hand appears in the back of her hair, and her head is jerked backwards. She lets out a hiss of pain. Tears gather at the edges of her vision, and she arches her back a little to relieve some of the pain in her already abused scalp. Her chest brushes Laito’s body, causing her to tense. She attempts to look down, but all she can see is his red hair as he lowers his face to her neck. She grits her teeth, and her heart skips a beat, and a cold sweat begins to form along her spine. Her eyes lift to stare at the ceiling, but they close shortly after Laito’s body presses snuggly against hers. She tilts awkwardly, but Laito wraps an arm around her waist, effectively keeping her in place. A cool breath brushes her neck, and Laito’s dark voice reaches her ears. “You. Are. Mine.”

He punctuates every word with a light kiss to the skin of her neck. She bites back a choked sound when the last word is punctuated with him scraping his teeth over her skin. Instinctively, she reaches up to put her hands on his shoulders and pushes. Unfortunately, it just earns her a sharp tug. She releases another hiss, but refuses to give him much more than that. He releases a sigh against her skin. His voice is once again playful when he lightly presses his lips to her neck. “You just have to ask me if you want one of the others to join us. I don’t mind sharing, but it isn’t any fun if you run to them behind my back. You don’t want to be a cheater do you?”

“We….aren’t in a relationship, Laito,” Mai breathlessly says. He releases what sounds like a sigh, but she isn’t sure. The hand falls from her hair to join his other one around her waist. His face presses tightly against her neck, and her body tenses. She isn’t sure what she should do at this point. She wants to push him away, but it feels almost like he is clinging to her. Her head lowers till her eyes are staring blankly at the wall over his shoulder. A sudden shudder wracks his body, and she tenses. He shudders again, and a soft sound reaches her ears. Unease fills her stomach, and she awkwardly lifts a hand to pat his back. “Are…you…..? You’re not….? Laito, are you crying?”

She flinches lightly at how ridiculous she sounds. She feels him shudder once more and feels a guilty feeling starting to settle in the pit of her stomach. His voice is so soft and muffled that she has to strain to hear him. “I just want you to know how much I love you.”

“I….I know,” she awkwardly says and pats him once more. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

His body stops shuddering, and relief feels her entire body. She relaxes into his hug and releases a breath of relief. She feels him shift, and his red hair tickles her cheek, causing her to close her eye on that side. His cold cheek rests against her shoulder. She releases a soft sigh and reaches up to pat his back once more. “Look, I’m sorry.”

His voice is once again almost too quiet for her to hear. “I’ve been having nightmares lately. It’s your fault.”

She opens her eye and glances down at the back of his head in confusion. “Uhh…”

He releases a sigh. Without warning, a spinning feeling takes over, and she’s suddenly off balance. She releases a squeak just as she tips over backwards. Thankfully, she lands on something soft. To her growing horror, the overwhelming scent of Laito floods her nose, and she finds herself staring at an oddly familiar ceiling. It feels like she’s being crushed below Laito’s dead weight. His body had somehow shifted without her noticing the movement. His head is now situated between her breasts almost over the top of her heart. His arms are wrapped beneath her, causing discomfort there as well. She shifts uncomfortably, feeling awkward. The movement seems to draw his attention, since his arms wrap tighter around her body. He says softly, “I can see why human babies enjoy this sound. It’s soothing.”

She could feel the heat creeping over her cheeks and clears her throat. “I, um…..”

She stops talking since she isn’t sure what she is trying to say. She feels him readjust. The seconds turn into minutes, which turns into hours. Finally, Mai decides to ask. “What did you mean earlier?”

Laito lets out a yawn and finally lifts his head to give her a playfully lazy look that reminds her of someone, but she can’t put her finger on who. Finally, it dawns on her who he reminded her of. She shudders when she slowly begins to piece it together. She opens her mouth to ask if she’s right, but she stops herself. A playfully flirtatious smirk spreads over his face. Without warning, he rolls to lay beside her. She uses this opportunity to scoot away from him a little. Once it becomes apparent he isn’t going to stop her, she slowly sits up and glances back at him. To her surprise, she finds that he’s drifted off to sleep. She waits for a few more tense seconds before carefully getting off the bed. She catches him muttering something and glances back just in time to see his face twist in pain for a moment before he rolls away from her. His body stills once more. She carefully creeps to the window and pulls the curtains back to look outside. The sun had set long ago, which she found odd that Laito is now sleeping. She glances back at him with a frown. Though, she supposed that it did make sense. He’d been up most of the day, so it’s obvious that he’d be tired. She glances back outside and releases a soft sigh. She pulls away from the window, allowing the curtain to fall back into place.

She suddenly realizes that she’s incredibly thirsty, so she quietly makes her way out of Laito’s bedroom. Just as she expects, the hallway is empty. The only sound is her breathing and muffled footsteps. That changes when she gets close to Yui’s room, causing her to almost sprint past with a deep blush. She arrives at the kitchen in record time before setting out to find herself something to drink. She knows that she should have water, since it’ll be sure to quench her thirst, but she finds that she’s craving something sweeter. She pauses to stare inside the fridge for what feels like an eternity. She would have stayed like that longer if a voice hadn't’ interrupted her thoughts, causing her to jump. “Are you just going to stare into the fridge all night like an airhead?”

She shuts the door rougher than she means to and spins to face her newest challenge. Wide brown eyes meet cold lavender colored ones. She watches his nose wrinkle in obvious disgust. “You stink.”

She frowns at him but decides it’s in her best interest to not chide him for being rude. Thankfully, this seems to be the right choice, since he lifts his teddy bear and says softly. “Doesn’t she smell terrible, Teddy? Just like that pervert. It’s thick enough to make me gag.”

He nuzzles the inanimate object for a moment before returning his full attention to Mai once more. She offers him a weak smile, but she quickly wipes it away when Kanato’s eyes narrow. She clears her throat and says politely. “Good morning, Kanato. Good morning, Mr. Teddy.”

She dips her head in their direction. Her heart skips a beat when she watches a frown overtake his face. Panic starts to set in. She thought it’d be a bad idea to not address the teddy bear, but maybe it was a mistake to say anything at all to it. Just as she opens her mouth to apologize, Kanato says, “I suppose I could forgive you for making my night horrible with such an atrocious scent.”

He moves to sit at the small table situated in the kitchen and gives her a serious look. “I’m hungry.”

She flinches at the demanding tone, but she decides to not argue with him in a room that is fully equipt with sharp objects. She quickly sets about making something that is easy and quick, but sweet at the same time. She finally settles on chocolate chip pancakes. In order to keep him from becoming impatient, she tries to start a conversation with him. “So, I haven’t seen you much lately. How have you been?”

His voice is cold when he states. “I have no interest in you pathetic attempts at friendship, human. This conversation is bothersome. Please keep your ugly mouth shut.”

Mai has to grit her teeth painfully together to keep from returning his rude comment with a rude one of her own. Thankfully, pancakes cook quickly, so she has them on his plate with some syrup in no time. To her relief, he seems to be delighted with her choice and quickly puts the finishing touches on the pancake before starting to eat. She turns to clean up her mess only to bump into a solid body. She steps back and glances up to meet furious red eyes. Her heart skips a beat, but she forces a smile onto her face. “Hi, Subaru.”

He grunts at her. She can’t help but roll her eyes when he steps around her and sits at the table. She glances back to find him staring expectantly at her. She barely contains her frustration, but she does what he is silently asking. She tells herself that maybe it will help to mend their damaged friendship. Just as she finishes up, a voice beside her ear causes her to jump. “What are you doing?”

Keeping Subaru’s plate close to her body, she awkwardly turns and looks up at yet another set of red eyes, only these ones are cold. Reiji frowns down at her before turning his gaze to the plate she is holding. A look of disgust spreads over his face, and he releases a sigh. “I see. You’re making a mess.”

“I…” Mai tries to argue, but she’s interrupted by a loud voice.

“Hey! Back off, four eyes!” The plate is snatched out of her hands before she even has a chance to see Subaru.

“Ah, Suba-” Mai tries once again to say, but he has already disappeared behind Reiji. The dark haired vampire releases a sigh and pushes up his glasses.

“Subaru, your manners need work. Neither you nor Kanato have thanked this human for making the two of you food,” Reiji coldly states. Despite it sounding like he’s defending her, Mai feels like it’s actually the opposite. In fact, she’s sure by the cold way he’s now regarding her that he’s silently insulting her willingness to cook pancakes for a couple of hungry vampires.

“Go to hell,” Subaru mutters.

“Thank you, Mai,” Kanato says around a mouthful of food, though it sounds almost like an afterthought. Still, it’s more than Mai thought she’d ever get from the purple haired vampire. Mai mutters a ‘you’re welcome’ under her breath and turns to turn the stove off.

“Since you are so willing to cook, I’ll take two; however, I do not want the added sugar. I’ll take mine plain, please,” Reiji coldly states. Mai finds herself gritting her teeth. There is no way she is just going to bow down and serve them all food. Just as she decides to tell Reiji so, his chest brushes her back. She feels every muscle in her body go rigid. That’s right. Reiji scared the crap out of her. His almost silky voice is spoken directly into her ear. “I’ve cooked for you. Isn’t it time to return the favor? If you do as I ask, I will not have to punish you for using our things without permission.”

She tries to say she’ll do it. She really does. To her horror, she opens her mouth to let out a terrified squeak. She hears a strange sound from Reiji, and it takes a moment for her to realize that he is chuckling softly. Thankfully, he pulls away from her before disappearing. She chances a glance over her shoulder to find that Subaru’s place is now empty, as is his plate. Disappointment fills her stomach, since she was hoping that she could have at least talked to him. Movement out of the corner of her eye has her glancing in that direction. She finds that Reiji has elegantly seated himself as far away from Kanato and Subaru’s plate as he possibly could. She turns and quickly starts to make Reiji’s food.

How did she end up making them food again? Her stomach twists at the thought of food, but she quickly shoves her thoughts away. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long to get Reiji’s food ready. Just as she sets the second pancake on the plate in a carefully neat pile, a weight leans against her back. Her body pitches forward, and the edge the counter digs painfully into her lower abdomen. She releases a grunt and tries to elbow the body behind her. Arms drape over her shoulders, and she has to put her hands on either side of Reiji’s plate to keep her upper body from crushing the food. She turns her head just enough to find a head full of blonde hair. Without meaning to, she hisses softly. “Get off me, Shuu. God, you weigh a ton! How do you weigh so much when I never see you eat.”

All she gets is an unidentifiable sound from the blonde. Reiji releases a sigh, drawing Mai’s attention. She tries to look in the dark haired vampire’s direction, but Shuu’s arm blocks her view. It does nothing to stop Reiji’s cold voice from reaching her. “Good-for-nothing, please refrain from stopping her from her duties. I requested her service before you arrived. Remove yourself from this room before I lose my appetite.”

She feels rather than hears Shuu chuckle. Before she can stop him, his arms move once more. The plate on the counter disappears along with Shuu’s weight. Mai breaths a sigh of relief before glancing over her shoulder at the blonde who, to her surprise, has sat down and started to eat the pancakes. Despite herself, she feels amusement bubble up when she steals a peek at Reiji. The dark haired vampire is clearly staring at Shuu without any attempt to hide his hatred. Mai barely stifles her laughter. Reiji’s cold gaze snaps back to her, and she quickly turns to start some more. Still, she has a smile on her face before biting her bottom lip to keep from laughing. It takes a bit, since Kanato had started to demand seconds for him and Teddy part way through Reiji’s plate, but she finally finishes making them food. She releases a sigh, only to jump when hands land on her hips. Cold lips brush her jaw, and she jerks away.

“Laito!”

“Laito,” Reiji states at the same time as Mai. Her mouth snaps shut, and she turns her attention to the vampire. His eyes are closed, though she thinks that’s due to the fact Shuu had chosen to sit directly across from him. “That behavior is inappropriate in a place the rest of us are eating.”

Laito let out a soft whine, but he doesn’t press the issue. Mai barely represses a soft sigh of relief when Laito pulls away. Unfortunately, she tenses all over again when he mutters suggestively in her ear. “Can I get a special?”

His hand brushes along her lower back, much too close to her butt for comfort. She glances over her shoulder and into his playful green eyes. Before she can react, he presses his lips to hers before releasing a chuckle and strolling to the table. Mai’s eyes narrow at him. Unfortunately, she isn’t able to focus on him long since she is almost toppled over when a body suddenly collides with hers. She stumbles and reaches back to steady herself only to feel pain racing up her arm. She unintentionally releases a cry of pain and jerks her hand away. Concerned red eyes appear in front of her, but her gaze immediately drops to her hand. It’s already turning red and blistering. She finds herself staring down at the burn on her palm numbly. She jumps when a cold hand wraps around her wrist. She’s vaguely aware of Yui saying she’s sorry over and over. Mai’s gaze lifts to meet Yui’s worried one. The petite girl latches onto Mai just as the person holding her thrusts her hand under the water. She turns and looks up at him. Shock runs through her body when she finds herself staring at the back of Reiji’s head.

“I didn’t mean to, Mai! I was just so excited to see you again, and I was thinking that it’d be great if we cooked together!” Yui’s voice becomes choked with tears. Mai turns her gaze from Reiji’s head to look at her friend once more. She barely manages to twitch her lips.

“I know you didn’t mean to do it, Yui. It’s ok.” Mai says as gently as she possibly can. To her surprise, Reiji seems to back up her claim.

“It’s a superficial burn. It won’t last long, though it’ll be tender for a couple of days.”

Mai releases a sigh and focuses on her friend with a forced smile. “See?”

With a jolt, she realizes that Yui’s crying. Mai awkwardly pats her friend on the top of her head with her opposite hand. She feels Reiji finally release her wrist and turns her attention to him to mutter a soft ‘thank you’. He responds stiffly before returning to the table. She watches him only to find out that Shuu had left his food half eaten, though it doesn’t really surprise Mai. She didn’t think he’d even eat any of it. After some awkward movement, she finally manages to get free of Yui, who wipes her face free of tears. Somehow, Mai ends up sitting where Shuu had been with a plate of french toast sitting in front of her. Mai numbly stares at the food. She really didn’t feel like eating, but Yui had insisted on making her food as an apology for causing her to burn her hand. She even said that it was her speciality and her father really liked it. After some mental struggle, Mai manages to eat all of it. Thankfully, the atmosphere seems to dissolve into a more pleasant one. 

Or as pleasant as it could get since all three triplets were now in the room. To her surprise, Reiji sticks around, though she can’t figure out why at first. It’s not until she sees him saving a couple of dishes that would’ve gotte broke in the midst of one of Kanato’s tantrums that she realize what he’s doing. It seems like he’s trying to contain the mess. Still, Kanato’s tantrum are only growing worse by the second, so she uses this opportunity to slip out of the kitchen. She hears footsteps fall into step beside her and glances in that direction. Yui gives her a sheepish look and turns her gaze away. Her voice is barely audible. “I’m sorry that your day out with Shiro was ruined.”

Mai rolls her eyes. “It was our day away from this….place….”

She lets her voice trail off and glances around herself with a wrinkled nose. Yui lets out a giggle then releases a soft sigh. “Do you hate it here?”

Mai slows to a stop and turns her gaze on Yui. Instead of answering the question, she counters with a simple statement. “You used to hate it here.”

Yui doesn’t turn to face Mai, but she does stop a few steps ahead of her. Her voice is barely audible. “I know. I was wrong not to give it a chance. I found that I do like it here. I wish you could give it a chance.”

Mai’s eyes narrow a little, and she shifts uncomfortably. A vibrating sound causes them to both jump. After a few seconds, Yui fishes out her cell phone. She stares at it in confusion before opening it. Curiosity gets the better of Mai, and she takes a step closer to read over Yui’s shoulder.

I know what you are. You are beyond saving. You’re father is deeply hurt by what has happened to you. I’m deeply sorry that I didn’t arrive in time to save you, but I do need your help. Together we ca-

Yui’s phone turns dark, and she shoves it into her pocket with shaking hands. Frustration and concern fill Mai’s stomach, but she pushes them away when she sees that Yui’s face had become pale, and her body begins to shake. Yui suddenly spins on Mai and says. “We need to talk.”

“Ah. I suppose, but who sent you that?”

Mai doesn’t get an answer. Instead, her petite friend grabs Mai’s wrist with a surprisingly strong grip and proceeds to drag her down hallway after hallway until they arrive in the gaming room. Every question of Mai’s along the way is simply ignored. After a couple of minutes of silence, Yui turns away from Mai and says softly. “I… I feel different, Mai. I think there is something wrong with me.”

Mai barely resists the urge to press her for details, since she has a feeling doing so will stop anything else Yui might say. While she watches, Yui’s arms wrap around her stomach, and she blurts out. “See, I have this heart condition. It hurts. It only started when I got here, so I thought it must be something to do with this place. I… I wanted to leave so badly. I missed my father so much. I just wanted to hear his voice again, but it wasn’t meant to be. Even when I went to the church to pray every day after we cleaned it.”

Her voice is getting weaker by the second, which causes a lump to form in Mai’s throat, but she still doesn’t plan to interrupt.

“I hated every second I spent here or at school. I leaned on you so heavily at first. You were the only person I could talk to. I just… I didn’t know what to do. I finally gave in to Ayato. I did as he asked, and I found that it isn’t as terrible as I first thought. I know what you’re about to say, but I think you feel the same way. You don’t go against Kanato or Reiji.”

Mai can’t help but flinch and states under her breath. “I value my well being.”

Yui lets out a choked chuckle, making it apparent she’s crying. “Something changed in me recently. My heart is acting different. It’s painful more often. Not even being around you eases it. I feel like I’m dying.”

She slowly makes her way over to the couch, where she sinks down into it. Her eyes slide closed, and her voice becomes stronger. “I started hearing a voice. Like an echo down the hallway. I wasn’t sure what it was at first.”

Chills race up and down Mai’s spine. It feels like she’s suddenly suffocating. While she watches, Yui’s body falls eerily still. After a few moments of prolonged silence, Yui suddenly starts talking, only her voice is more sultry. “It hurts being so cramped up in such an ugly body.”

Her friend’s eyes slowly open, only they aren’t red anymore. They are a hauntingly familiar, bright, vivid green color. They drop from the ceiling and seem to pierce deep into Mai’s soul. She feels her breath hitch, and an overwhelming sense of danger threatens to smother her.

“Hello, my dear. You must be her friend.”


	26. Bonus Chapter: Laito II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter might seem a little wild and seems to jump around, but I tried to write it from Laito's POV. He's not the easiest to write, but definitely easier than Shuu! Also, even though this is a bonus chapter, it does actually have an important plot point! So, I hope that you guys enjoy! Thank you for reading!

He almost laughs at the situation he finds her in. She’s about to be strangled by a very angry Subaru, who’s wearing a foul smelling substance that can only be described as vomit. He quickly removes her from the situation and takes her to his room to avoid the rest of Subaru’s rage. Despite all his temper tantrums, the youngest brother never enters anyone else’s room. That had been a harsh lesson he learned when he tangled with Kanato one day. They found out that Kanato’s temper is even worse than Subaru’s. Of course, both of them were punished. Laito chuckles at the memory and lays a very limp Mai on his bed. He can smell faint traces of Reiji clinging to her, so he figures that is the reason she vomited on Subaru.

He slowly lays down beside her and starts to run his fingers through her hair. She twitches in her sleep, but otherwise doesn’t move. It’s become both amusing and frustrating to interact with Mai. Despite the fact that he’s claimed her, she continues to run from him. Still, he finds the chase to be a thrill, so he doesn't really mind. After all, he always loses interest in his toys when they give into him. Getting their love is boring. Who cares about love, anyway? It’s nothing more than words in the end, and it always elicits some obscene reaction from his current lover when he moves on. A frown takes over his face after a moment of thinking. For him, the most frustrating part of the chase is the fact that she still goes to his oldest brother of all people. In fact, that infuriates him more than he cares to admit.

She. Is. His.

His fingers move to brush over her neck. He’s sure that her body still bears his bite marks, but he finds the urge to bite her again. This time, he’ll put it in a spot that will be hard to cover. It always worked for Ayato, so why not give it a try. He leans down to bite the soft tantalizing skin when she mutters something in her sleep. He lifts his gaze to watch her face. Curiosity gnaws at his insides when he sees her lips moving. He can almost catch what she is saying, but it still sounds like a garbled mess, even with his enhanced hearing. His green eyes drift back to her neck when she rolls away from him. Suddenly, he finds that he doesn’t have much of an appetite.

He decides that it won’t be any fun to bite her if he can’t see or hear her reaction.

He nestles in beside her and pulls her warm body closer to his. His eyes close, and he takes a deep breath, easily inhaling her scent, before he drifts off to sleep. He’s vaguely aware that she wakes up once. Frustrated at her wiggling, he pulls her body tightly against his and mutters that she shouldn’t trust Reiji ever again. Thankfully, he can feel her relax at the sound of his voice, so he allows himself to drift back off.

Before he is ready, Reiji appears and begins to quietly shoo him out of his own room. He grumbles under his breath and glances at Mai’s sleeping form. A harsh word of warning is enough to get him moving. After all, Reiji doesn’t look twice at humans, so Laito doesn’t have anything to worry about. The ‘morning’ drifts by in a blur of activity that consists of Ayato irritating not only Kanato but Subaru as well. Finally, they are shoo’ed to the limo, once again by Reiji. Once he arrives, he finds a cold, hard knot forming in the pit of his stomach when he finds that Shuu has chosen a spot directly beside Mai. He takes a shallow breath and reminds himself that he likes sharing, so this isn’t really a big deal. The cold, hard knot changes from an uncomfortable feeling to a cold thrill that runs through his body. He quickly sits beside her and gets her attention. The second she scoots away from him, the knot returns. This time it takes a bit longer for him to will it away, but he does manage to do so.

He finds himself relaxing when she pulls away from the eldest brother and turns his attention to teasing those around him in order to ignore the now uncomfortably warm sensation in the pit of his stomach. The feelings are easily forgotten when the brothers gang up to tease Subaru.

__________________________________________________________________________

His father contacts Laito to inform him that his punishment for harming Mai is that he has to visit his father every single day, which is a punishment alone. Unfortunately, he’s stuck sitting in his father’s office for a couple of hours every day without being spoken to, or having anything to do. Other than that, everything falls back into the same routine; however, Laito decides to try something different. He decides to test Mai by keeping his distance from her, but he never stops watching her. If he isn’t able to, he has familiars watch her. He observes the friendship develop between her and the male human. It entertains him to watch her desperately trying to reach out to her own kind. She’s been tainted by him. She’ll never return to human world. At least, not fully, and not until he said so. The human boy is handsome in his own rights, but Laito can easily tell that neither hold more than simple friendship for one another. That’s when he notices something off about the boy. It’s in the way he moves, and the way he seems to be observing the transitional Yui.

Apparently, Laito isn’t the only one to notice. Ritcher’s hard to spot when he doesn’t want to be seen, but Laito is still able to catch glimpses of him from time to time. He is always looking in the girls’ direction with a look of such longing that it leaves Laito curious every time. Curiosity isn’t the only thing he is left with. He always ends up with a bad taste in his mouth after watching his uncle slink around for a while before disappearing once more. After all, he doesn’t exactly have a good relationship with his uncle.

He makes sure to stick closer to Mai when he notices his uncle loitering, but it’s never necessary. There are plenty of students who are part of the Laito’s world, and there is no way that Ritcher will risk his or his brother’s reputation by attacking a couple of high school girls.

Another form of amusement for Laito is her interactions with the new vampires. It's obvious that she's uncomfortable around them. In fact, the looks of suspicion and unease on her face are down right hilarious to him. Once again, he finds that he doesn’t feel any threat from them. After all, their focus seems to be Yui. She’s classified as the bride, after all. Mai’s nothing more than a silly human who has become tangled in something that she doesn’t quite understand.

But, Laito’s starting to feel that Mai might not be just a silly human. After all, his father has taken a special interest in her. That alone deserves his attention. With that in mind, he decides it's time for him to recapture Mai’s attention. After all, she has been wandering too far from his side lately and is getting comfortable without his presence. There is also the fact that he’s been getting thirsty. With a jolt, he realizes that he hasn’t tried drinking anything lately

A smile adorns his face when an idea comes to mind. Perhaps he there is a way to make her willingly return to his side, and he can sate his thirst at the same time. It’ll teach her a lesson about living without him.

It doesn’t take long for him to find a willing girl. He leads her to an empty classroom near Mai’s next class and doesn’t waste any time. He easily lifts her up onto a desk and settles between her spread legs. He’s just getting to the good part when he hears her footsteps approaching. He can faintly smell her scent drifting from the hallway. A smirk overtakes his features, and he buries his face in the human girl’s neck. His fingers find all the right places that leaves her putty in his hands. He lightly rakes his teeth over her neck and encourages her to be loud. A thrill runs through his body when he hears the change in Mai’s breathing. He can hear her creeping footsteps drawing closer to the door that he so casually left open for her.

A smile spreads over his face, but it goes unnoticed by the girl in his hands. Mai’ll realize how fun it is to helplessly watch her loved one play with another. After all, Mai is too shy to interrupt something like this. The thirst in the back of his throat swells up, and he finds himself sinking his teeth into the girl’s neck without a second thought. The thick liquid runs down his throat like syrup. He almost gags at how thick it is, but he hasn’t been drinking blood lately, so he decides to just deal with it. He can feel the thrill growing when he hears a soft noise from Mai, but disappointment quickly takes it’s place when he hears her leaving without ever looking in.

The girl begins to struggle in his hands, but he just covers her mouth and continues drinking until she becomes still. With his stomach full, he pulls away lets the unconscious girl slip away from him. She falls off the desk and lands on the floor with a sickening crack. Using his tongue, he easily licks away any stray drops of her blood from his lips before he uses the back of his hand to clear his face. He turns to sit where the girl had just been sitting. The scent of her perfume seems to choke the air, which just serves to irritate him even further. 

Perhaps he should give up the chase with Mai? He has been getting too invested in her, and he doesn’t like that thought at all. His eyes drift back down to the unconscious girl. The knock to the head will be enough to make them doubt anything she said, and he doesn’t care enough to try to hide the puncture marks in her neck. With that thought in place, he turns his attention back to the door. After a few more minutes of silent thought, Laito decides something about this Shiro boy has him curious, so he isn’t quite done with Mai yet. With a small smile, he pushes himself up and sets out to find his little toy.

It doesn’t take him long to find Mai. When he sees her sitting with the human boy, he decides to hang back and listen to their conversation, rather than go right up to them. The more he listens, the more he becomes sure that he needs to find out more about Shiro. Finally, he makes himself known. Just like expected, Mai simply ignores him. The longer she pretends that he doesn’t exist, the more bored he gets. The project that she discusses with the two boys is obviously boring enough that neither of the boys pay much attention, but Mai is too focused on getting the school work done that she doesn’t notice what is going on around her.

This gives Laito a chance to really study the human boy. Unfortunately, the human manages to school his expressions enough that Laito isn’t able to glean much, so he turns his attention back to Mai. In his boredom, he decides to tease her by following her home. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go as planned. She’s obviously still upset with him, but he didn’t expect her to lash out at him quite so much. The second he hears her mention that Ritcher told her about him and Cordelia, a cold, black rage fills the pit of his stomach. Is Ritcher trying to take away yet another of his possessions?

He moves without really thinking. He claims her mouth easily, and ignores the people around them.

It’s time he taught her just who she belongs to.

The pool at his house will do nicely. It proves incredibly easy to push her into the water, and it gives him a sense of being in control. She ends up clinging to the side, and she has to listen to him. He doesn’t bother trying to hide his anger at both her and his uncle, nor does he hide the past. After all, he never did anything wrong. Her appalled reactions only serve to irritate him even further. His anger reaches it’s peak when she tries to pull herself out of the pool before he is done with her. He begins to name off the people she can possibly run to. She doesn’t react when he states the human boy or Subaru, but he thought he saw her twitch when he said Shuu’s name. His eyes narrow a little, and an uncomfortable feeling settles in the bottom of his stomach.

With a sick realization, he discovers what is irritating him. It just takes her asking if he’s jealous. He hasn’t felt this disgusting feeling since Cordelia, and it revolts him completely. His thoughts immediately turn away from the uncomfortable feeling, when he considers what he should do to punish her for straying too far. After a moment, it comes to him. She glares up at him from the water. Her brown hair sticks to the sides of her face, and her clothes fan out over the water. The opportunity is too much to pass up. It seems she realizes his intentions a few seconds after he decides on a punishment. The look of pure terror sends a pleasant feeling all the way to his core.

It’s almost enough for him to forgive her for making him feel such outrageous emotions, but she’ll never learn if she isn’t punished for stepping out of line. Without a moment of hesitation, his hand whips out to shove her head beneath the water. A feeling of satisfaction fills his entire being as he feels her struggle. It’s time she learns that he’s the one who holds all the power, and not the other way around. He releases a sigh when he sees her open her mouth and inhale a mouthful of water. His other hand reaches into the water to grab the front of her shirt. He pulls her to the surface and awkwardly drags her back onto dry land. He rolls her onto her side, places the back of her head against his legs and begins to rub her back.

“It’s ok now, Sweetheart. I got you,” he coos in her ear. He continues to repeat those words until she spits out all of the water. Once that has been accomplished, he moves her head to rest in his lap. His fingers lightly run through her hair, and he thinks about how to reward her for giving him such a good time.

His gaze lowers to stare at the side of her face. She is dazedly staring at the wall beside them, though he’s sure she probably isn’t even seeing it. An idea clicks in his mind, but a cold knot forms in the pit of his stomach at the thought of sharing her with his brother. Still, he needs to reward her. On the plus side, it might even drive her away from Shuu due to sheer embarrassment.

But first, he has to slip some more teasing in. Once that is complete, he takes her to Shuu’s room. The one thing he isn’t prepared for is her swinging at him, though he figured later that he should’ve seen it coming with Mai’s personality. After all, she did swing a baseball bat at him not long ago. It sparks a hint of anger over the ever growing knot in his stomach, but the pleasure he gets from her resistance makes everything better. After all, she is still entertaining.

She still needed to be broken in.

Without a single regard to her complaints, he sinks his fangs into her flesh. She’ll give into the pleasure once she feels it; he’s certain of it. After all, pleasure is what everyone lived for. One carnal pleasure after another. Her silly human mind is simply denying her body what it desires because of something humans foolishly called morals. Her blood seems to flow so much easier than the girl he had at school. In fact, it tastes so much better that he almost loses himself to it. It’s not until she goes limp in his hands that he realizes that he may have taken it too far. He carelessly lets her drop into the middle of Shuu’s bed and stands over her limp form. He reaches up to clean the blood off his face.

She’s visibly paler than normal, but it isn’t alarmingly so. She’ll probably feel tired for a couple of days, but it was well worth the meal she gave him. He releases a huff when another thought occurs to him. He won’t be able to see her face twist with pleasure when Shuu finally joins them.

A door opening draws his attention away from her. A sigh escapes the blonde vampire, and Shuu tiredly says. “Ah, it’s you.”

“Hello!” Laito practically sings. “Want to play a game with us?”

He doesn’t even bother asking what Laito and Mai are doing in his room, nor does he respond to Laito. Instead, he simply moves down the steps and makes it to his bed. He casts a lazy glance at the human, but he doesn’t show much interest in her. Instead, he lets his body drop onto bed. A couple of minutes pass with Laito staring intently at Shuu’s back.

“You make it hard to sleep, and your silent staring is ruining the music. Is there something you need?” Shuu asks in a monotone type voice. Laito drops down on the opposite side of Mai and lets his body fall back till he is laying beside her. He hadn’t realized how suffocating another male’s scent is until that point. In fact, traces of it still clung to Mai, so it almost overwhelms her wonderful scent.

“Do you like this silly little human?” Laito asks. He doesn’t care one way or another, but it’ll make it easier to manipulate the lazy vampire into doing what he wants if he does feel something for Laito’s toy. At least, Laito hopes it will be easier. Dealing with Shuu is exhausting for just about anyone who has ever encountered him.

Like expected, he doesn’t receive an answer, but it doesn’t deter him. He joyfully tells Shuu that he’d like to reward his little Sweetheart for being such good entertainment, and he figured that he could share her with Shuu as a reward.

A scoff cuts him off. Shuu’s tired voice reaches his ears. “I’m not interested in joining your perverse show.”

Laito lets out a whine and rolls onto his side. “Why not?”

Silence is his only answer. In fact, he’s sure that Shuu has fallen asleep. The blonde has an uncanny ability to just doze off without regard to the situation. With a roll of his eyes, he presses his body against Mai’s and allows himself to doze off as well.

It turns out that he doesn’t have anything to fear from his lazy older brother after all.

________________________________________________________

His first thoughts are groggy. He’s not sure why, but he reaches to feel for her body to warm his cold one. All he grasps is wet blankets. Finally, his eyes slowly open to realize two things. The first is that he is beyond livid. The second is that not only is Mai gone, but Shuu is as well. His thoughts turn back to Cordelia, but he quickly shakes them away. Mai is not even in the same playing field as Cordelia in terms of appearance, so there is no reason to compare the two. Mai is a toy to relieve his boredom at best, while Cordelia captured his heart. His earlier thoughts that he felt something for Mai had been wrong.

With that thought in mind, he quickly searches her out, only to find her chasing after Subaru, who looks just as livid as Laito had felt.

She seems to have that effect on people. Still, he can’t help but feel the dull anger raise once more, and it frustrates him even more to feel anything past desire. His anger seeps out, and he decides to punish her once again, since the attempted drowning didn’t penetrate her thick skull. It’s not until he smells her blood that he seems to regain his senses. He glances at her knees and playfully coos at her, though she seems less than impressed. He bites back a chuckle. After a short, but frustrating talk, he decides to show her an image of herself.

He wants to see her break while watching pleasure twist her features as he drinks from her. He can’t resist sucking a little more blood, and he finds himself losing the original plan after her blood touches his tongue. He quickly grasps at it, though he’s pleased when she starts to crack. Still, an annoying feeling of dissatisfaction is swelling in his chest. He doesn’t want the game to end yet. Who knew when their next bride would come along.

Thankfully, things move in a different, but much more pleasant, direction, so his thoughts are easily forgotten. He allows himself to go with the flow; however, they’re interrupted before they get to the best part. Still, he doesn’t find himself angry with the interruption. After all, he now has even more ammunition to use against her when she tries to misbehave. He successfully turned her into putty in his hands. The only thing that starts to kill his pleasant mood is her bringing up his mother once again. 

What effectively kills his mood is the fact that she retreats ,once again, to that sloth’s room.

Unfortunately, his loitering outside Shuu’s room draws unwanted attention, which results in not only Laito receiving a lecture, but Subaru and Mai get dragged along, too. Laito easily tunes out Reiji’s nagging. After all, that’s all the dark haired vampire seems to do. He’s more of a nagging mother than Cordelia ever was. For Reiji, it’s all about looking good for the Sakamaki name. Make sure you get good grades, or you’ll reflect poorly on the Sakamaki name. Yada, yada, yada.

Laito has heard it all, and he knew he isn’t the only one to ignore Reiji’s annoying lectures. Ayato and Shuu don’t even pretend to listen, and Kanato is blandly rude to Reiji during any lecture. Laito, at least, pretended to care. Thankfully, the lecture ends, and Laito is able to sneak back in bed with Mai, though they are once again woken up. This time, Laito didn’t mind. He was having a nightmare about being locked in the dungeon once again. He knew what the cause of the commotion was immediately, but he wanted to see Mai’s reaction, so he retrieved his familiar. Once he announces it’s fate, he sees a change in her.

He can’t understand her need to protect it. The familiar had not only failed him, but it also dared to bite his master’s property. Amidst their conversation on whether he’d kill the familiar or not, her phone rings, and an intriguing possibility opens up before him that he can’t possibly pass up. After all, it’ll allow him to get in depth information on Shiro.

That human boy isn’t normal by any means, and Laito loves a good puzzle.

Despite his promise that the familiar will be alright, he has already sent it to be dropped off to Reiji. He doesn’t have the time nor the patience to deal with a familiar who doesn’t do as it’s told.

____________________________________________________________________________

The day turns out better than he expected. The Mukami brothers certainly livened things up, and he finds himself able to talk to them easier than he thought he would, but he still keeps an eye on Shiro.

It’s due to this close eye that he notices that Shiro has been giving Yui a calculated stare that did not sit right with Laito. That’s when it dawns on him what the human boy is. He almost laughs at the possibility of them still existing. It’s rumored that Reiji used one to kill his mother, but Laito didn’t truly believed it.

Everything suddenly made sense. The boy befriended Mai to get closer to Yui, the prospective bride sent to them by the church. Though, he does think that the human had unexpectedly developed true feelings of friendship toward his spunky little human.

It turns out that this’ll be better than Laito could have ever dreamed. He doesn’t care that Mai slips away from the boys. It gives him time to drop a casual tip to Kou about the suspected identity of Shiro. His familiars are lurking around Mai anyway, and they’ll report everything they see to him.

Before that happens, he finds himself alone with Shiro. Laito is casually looking through some games when Shiro steps up beside him.

“Leave her alone,” Shiro mutters softly. His voice is clearly meant to be deep and threatening, but Laito can’t help but smirk. He turns playful, green eyes to the human beside him.

“Oh? If I don’t?” Laito prods with a smirk on his face. Shiro reaches out to pick up a game, though he shows no genuine interest in it.

“You won’t live long if you touch her,” Shiro mutters. It seems like he’s trying to make it sound like an afterthought, but Latio can tell it’s something that he’s thought about quite a bit. He scoffs loudly before letting out a laugh. He doesn’t care if he draws attention to himself. Shiro on the other hand slams the game down and glances around before hissing at Laito to be quiet. To Laito’s amusement, a hint of red starts to color the boy’s cheeks.

“Oh, silly little human. You’re already too late. That girl is mine.” Shiro’s eyes narrow angrily. The look of anger darkens the boy’s eyes by a shade. He takes a step a threatening step towards Laito and says in a low rumble.

“Don’t touch Mai again. I already lost the one I was supposed to get, but I won’t let you take the other one. She’s a good person, and you’re ruining her. She deserves so much more than your twisted, blood sucking, lifestyle.”

The smile melts away from Laito’s face, but he doesn’t frown. Instead, he allows a smug look to take over his face and says. “Do you think she can ever be normal again?”

Shiro scoffs and glances around before turning his attention back to the red haired vampire. “No. I’m not a child, but she can be trained. She can be used to help stop monsters like you.”

“So you plan to use her just like I am?” Laito asks. He makes sure to add an innocent note to his voice. “How does that make you any less of a monster?”

“No, I didn’t mean it that way,” Shiro snaps. Amusement continues to build in Laito’s chest.

“Fine, fine.” His smile returns, and he leans closer to Shiro, who leans away in response. “You say she’s a good person?”

He waits till Shiro nods before he continues. “Do you think that she can ever bring herself to kill someone?”

Shiro opens his mouth, but he closes it only seconds later. After a few minutes of silence, Latio lets out a chuckle and says softly. “She can either go with you and be forced to learn to kill, or she can stay with me and discover a life of fulfilled desire. Tell me, are you going to make that choice for her? I believe that makes you more of a monster than me.”

Shiro’s lip pulls back in a silent snarl, but he turns on his heel without another word and leaves. A sense of victory takes over for a moment before Laito returns to his lazy shopping. He just has to wait until his familiar brings him the information about Mai.

And it turns out to be quite a bit of information. After all, she blabs about his true identity and their relationship to Shiro, though Laito finds he isn’t even upset by it. The human boy did play on her emotions, and she did trust him. Mai also wants to feel human, and she isn’t getting that with Yui any more. In fact, she’s the last fully human girl in the bunch now. Which strikes him as funny since she is now surrounded by predators at all times. 

So, he slips home to converse with Reiji about a punishment that will make her sick but not seriously harm her. It turns out to be more entertaining than he thought it’d be, though he can feel the edges of exhaustion taking over when he finally drags her back home.

His last thoughts before he allows himself to slip into unconsciousness is that he enjoys feeling the warmth of her body pressed against his own.

In fact, he wouldn’t mind feeling her body, cold or warm, pressing against his body for a while longer. It doesn’t matter that he knows what Shiro is now.

He brushes those disturbing thoughts away. He figures it’s just the exhaustion talking.

With that decided, he allows himself to sleep into what he hopes is a dreamless sleep.


	27. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope that you enjoy the chapter! :D

Her body feels like it has become rooted to the floor. She can’t get herself to move. In fact, she doesn’t think that she’s even breathing anymore, and she can’t hear her heart beating, though she can feel it racing like a rabbit’s. That’s exactly what she feels like in this exact moment. A rabbit that has been caught by a predator while out in the open. There is nowhere to run or hide. She tries to tell herself that it’s her friend standing in front of her, but she knows that’s a lie. It’s Yui’s body, but it is not Yui. Green eyes lazily wander down her body in such away that she feels like wrapping her arms around herself and cringing away. In fact, she’s sure that those hauntingly familiar green eyes have taken in almost every inch of her body. She shudders when the person in front of her hums softly before the sound of footsteps cause her to open eyes, though she doesn’t even know she shut them. ‘Yui’ is slowly moves toward her. Once the blonde is within arm’s reach, she slowly starts to circle around Mai.

Now, she’s positive that every part of her body has been looked over. ‘Yui’ stops directly behind Mai during the second circle, but she can’t force herself to look over her shoulder. Without any warning, two petite arms wrap around Mai’s shoulders and a cold body lightly pushes into her back. Every muscle in her body feels ready to snap, and she sharply inhales. A sultry chuckle in her ear reminds her of Laito. She wants to flinch at the thought, but a puff of cold air on her cheek clears her mind completely.

“You’re not bad looking. Not the best, but you have your qualities,” a sultry voice coos softly in her ear. A cold finger suddenly begins to trace down her jaw. “You like leftovers, do you?”

Mai can’t get her tongue to move. Her throat, mouth, and even eyes feel so dry that it borders on painful. She inhales a shaky breath, but it does nothing to calm her almost fried nerves. The cold finger traces around to her chin before slowly working it’s way down her throat to the tip of her collarbone before disappearing. Without warning, she’s spun around to face ‘Yui’. Once again, she’s struck by how familiar those green eyes are, all the way down to the playfulness. She wants to pull away; she wants to run; there are so many things that she wants to do, but she can’t get her body to even try to breath properly. Her lungs begin to give a painful burn, but she doesn’t respond. Her attention remains fixated on the girl standing in front of her. Mai flinches when ‘Yui’ clicks her tongue lightly.

“Poor thing, they’ve abused you,” ‘Yui’ says with a look of almost genuine concern. “Do you want me to help you?”

Mai isn’t able to answer, but it doesn’t seem to matter. The blonde’s hands gently land on either side of her cheeks, like she’s a child in need of comforting.

“I can help you with that, my dear. Together, we can get revenge on those who have or wish to hurt you.”

Mai makes a strange noise in the back of her throat, causing her to flinch. On the bright side, she’s slowly regaining control over her body. She quickly focuses on gaining what little control she has. With a hesitant voice, she manages to ask. “Wh...y….? Ho…..w…..?”

The girl in front of her hums softly and uses one hand to pat Mai’s cheek. It feels like a corpse is touching her. Her skin begins to crawl at the feeling. She swallows hard and tries to focus on pulling away next. While she is doing that, ‘Yui’ says, “Well, my sweet girl, we will do it in slow steps. The first step will be getting all of th-”

“Who are you?” Mai asks more confidently than she ever thought possible. A startled look takes over ‘Yui’s’ face for only a brief moment before it changes into a sultry smile.

“My dear, can’t you tell?”

Irritation warms the very depths of Mai’s stomach, making her realize just how cold and numb she feels. She swallows hard and puts as much strength into her next words as she can. “You are not Yui.”

“Has he not spoken of me?”

Mai can feel her eyebrows drawing closer, and confusion fills her body, though it’s not at the question. She finds herself staring at the smiling blonde before her in silent contemplation. She knows exactly who it is, but she can’t bring herself to say. Saying it will make it even more real than it already is. After a few seconds of silence, the girl sighs. A shred of relief feels Mai’s chest when the cold hands pull away from her. She watches one hand reach up to casually flick some stray strands from her friend’s face. “Ah, it is just like that insolent child to behave this way.”

A smile reappears on Yui’s face, though it’s nothing like Yui’s usually gentle one. The next words are like a punch to Mai’s gut. “My name is Cordelia.”

All the air in Mai’s body rushes out, and she feels like she can barely stand. How is this possible? Cordelia is Laito’s mother. That simple thought sends a shudder up her spine. Still, how is the person in front of her Cordelia? Didn’t Richter tell her that the triplets killed their mother? Her mouth opens and closes a couple times, but no sound comes out. Cordelia’s smile widens, and her hand lifts to touch Mai’s cheek once more, but Mai is finally able to control her body again. She rips herself out of reach. Before she knows it, she’s across the room from the woman. Without meaning to, she hisses softly, “Don’t touch me.”

The smile quickly melts off Cordelia’s face. With a frown, she seems to actually observe Mai for the first time. The frown only lasts a moment though before a chuckle erupts from her so suddenly that Mai’s heart skips a beat, and she presses her back against the wall against the wall in response. Her breaths come out in ragged pants, and she can now hear her heart racing wildly in her ears. Cordelia’s chuckles stop just as suddenly as they began. Her voice still sounds amused though. “Ah, so he has spoke of me. My dear, I will save you the heart ache now. He doesn’t want you. You’ll only ever be a replacement to him.”

“I don’t care,” Mai states, though she’s not sure why. A look of mock pity takes over Cordelia’s face. Mai feels rage building inside her.

“Ah, do you love him? This silly girl seems to think so. It is a mistake to fall for someone like that pathetic boy. He will never amount to anything.”

“Shut up,” Mai whispers, but the woman in Yui’s body doesn’t seem listen.

“Ah, my dear. I know the pain of loving someone who you can’t obtain!”

“Let her go,” Mai whispers. She closes her eyes tightly, desperately wishing that she could get out more than a whisper. She knows it’s a mistake to close her eyes on an enemy, but it helps her think that this is nothing but a dream. Unfortunately, that thought process only lasts a few seconds.

“Now, now,” the sultry voice coos closer than before. Mai’s eyes snap open, and she presses her back as tightly against the wall as she possibly can. Cordelia had moved across the room while her eyes had been shut. She is now hovering just outside arm’s reach. A look of sympathy colors her face, but Mai has a feeling that it isn’t genuine. “I’m just trying to help her. Ayato is the worst child of them all, and she made a rash choice to pick him.”

Mai opens her mouth, but she doesn’t get a chance to say anything. Cordelia simply continues. “I gave that child all the love and support I possibly could. I gave him everything. I just asked for one thing. Just one!”

She holds up a single finger before releasing an airy sigh. “All I asked is that he climb to the top. He just had to beat that worthless Beatrix’s children. How did that ungrateful brat repay me?”

Anger is leaking into her voice at this point, causing it to lose it’s sultriness. Mai still can’t find a way to cut into her speech. Cordelia spins away from Mai and carefully picks her way across the game room. Her fingers reach out to run along the velvet edge of the pool table. Once she is far enough away, she says softly, “I just want to help this silly girl. She’s making a mistake.”

Mai wants to nod. She wants to agree that Yui is making a mistake giving her heart to Ayato, but she finds herself unable to. Unfortunately, Cordelia doesn’t seem to plan on waiting for her to say anything. “I’ll keep her safely locked away until the time is right. I don’t want her to have to see what we are about to do.”

“We?” Mai flinches at the fact that her voice comes out as a squeak. Cordelia spins to pin Mai with a piercing green gaze. With a jolt, Mai realizes that it’s not familiar.

It’s nothing like Ayato’s confident, but arrogant, gaze.

It’s definitely not Laito’s playfully flirtatious gaze either.

The color may be the same, but the ones looking at her are so much colder than either of theirs. Mai never thought that she’d ever think of Laito or Ayato’s gazes as warm, but they were compared to the one staring at her right now. She feels a shiver working it’s way slowly up her spine. She jumps when Cordelia says. “I knew there was something about you the first time I saw you through her eyes. I can save you and her both. I have the power to. We just need to…”

“No.” Mai states louder than she meant to. She can’t deny that the thought is tempting, but she finds that she doesn’t want to deal with this woman longer than needed. She wants her friend back.

“What?” The voice that comes out of Yui’s mouth is easily the most terrifying thing Mai has ever heard. Despite the growing fear, it takes only a second for her to decide to stay on the path she chose.

“I said no.” Mai states more confidently than before. With those words out, she finds straightening her spine to be so much easier. She’s able to stand tall and stare as coldly as she can at the person invading her friend.

A look of pure anger colors Cordelia’s face, and she looks ready to say something, but Mai beats her to it. She coldly says. “You are a bitch, from what I understand. If your children are any indication of what you were like, then I don’t want to make a deal with you. I don’t want to work with you. I just want you out of my friend and out of my life.”

“You insolent human!” Cordelia snaps, but Mai wasn’t done yet.

“You must have tortured your children to get them to turn into who they are today. Ayato, the ungrateful child as you call him, is an asshole. I totally agree that I don’t approve of him and Yui together, but she loves him. I have decided to respect that, and you know what? I think a part of him loves her, too. So, no. I won’t hurt my friend just to please your sick sense of revenge against your own kid. I don’t need your help with my own problem either. I w-”

A resounding smack effectively kills any other words. Her head snaps to the side so hard that she worries that her neck might snap. The pain follows only seconds later. It feels like she had just walked into a pole. She’s too startled to say anything, or even turn her head back. Unfortunately, she isn’t given a chance to even recover. A hand delves into her hair and grips it so tightly that she’s worried that her hair will be torn out by the roots. Her head is snapped back to face a very angry Cordelia. With a barely audible hiss, Cordelia says. “Do you think that I really need your help? You’re an insignificant human. Know your place!”

Before Mai can even prepare herself, her face is hit on the other side. Unfortunately, her cheek is pinched between her teeth. In response to being pinched, her skin gives way, and warm, metallic blood fills her mouth. She lets out an unintentional whimper. Cordelia tugs harshly on Mai’s hair. With a sickening sound, she feels and hears some of her hair come loose. Her scalp calls out in even more pain due to the cuts on the back of her head. Her head is jerked to the side, revealing her throat to the vampire before her. Her heart skips a beat, and her eyes slide tightly closed. She finds herself expecting to feel a piercing pain. What she doesn’t expect is to hear Cordelia’s voice spoken directly into her ear. “Laito does not love you. He will never love you. You’ll only pass the time for him, nothing more.”

She’s not sure why she says what she says next, but she does. “Like he was for you? I don’t care if he loves me or not. I don’t even pretend to like him, so your words don’t hurt me. You sound like a pitiful child having a tantrum.”

The wind leaves her in a rush. Her head spins, and she’s not even sure what happened. She just knows that she is laying on her side, Cordelia is laughing over the top of her, and her body hurts all over. She tenses when something cold touches her and tries to flinch away. Without warning, it feels like a bucket of cold water has been poured over her. She hears Cordelia call out something, but the sound is lost to the drone of women screaming at the top of their lungs in pure pain. Mai tries to open her eyes, but they refuse to even move. She finds herself curling into a fetal position. Just as quickly as it started, the screaming stops. The only sound is Cordelia’s haunting laughter. A sharp metallic smell reaches her nose, and Mai realizes that it’s blood. She can’t tell if she’s bleeding, or if it’s just a phantom smell due to the fact that her mouth tastes like she just sucked on a handful of change.

“I forgot how weak humans are! How pitiful!” Cordelia states before another round of laughter. This time, her laughter is cut short.

“Ah, how unpleasant!” A voice states with a playful hint to it. One of Mai’s eyes open just enough to see Laito’s blurry outline. She watches Cordelia turn to face him, and she tunes out the rest of the conversation. Instead, her eyes shift to look at the door just behind Laito. She figures her chances of making it to the door is slim to none. There are two vampires between her and the door. They’d notice if she got up and tried to casually stroll out. Her eyes move up to look at Cordelia, who had moved so close to Laito that their bodies were touching. She is laughing like a schoolgirl. Mai’s eyes shift to Laito. He’s wearing a smile, but she doesn’t think it reaches his eyes. A jolt runs through her body when Laito’s green eyes slowly shift over to glance at Mai for only a moment.

But it’s enough to get a message across.

Or, she thought he’s trying to silently tell her something. She can’t be a hundred percent sure. She turns her attention back to the door. Laito seems intent on distracting Cordelia, so Mai’ll play her part. She flinches when she reaches out to put a hand down. Every muscle in her body screams in agony, and she has to bite back a whimper. She uses a leg to propel herself forward. Once again, she feels every single muscle in her body, but she focuses on using her other arm to reach even further.

This is how she moves across the floor. She figures that Cordelia is less likely to notice her basically army crawling away than she would if Mai were to try to get up and walk out. Still, it feels like an eternity passes before she finally makes it to the door. She considers looking back, but she decides against it. It’d waste what few precious seconds she had left. With a soft intake of breath, she slowly climbs to her feet, pulls open the door just enough to slip out, and leaves. She spins to shut the door as quietly as she can. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see that Laito and Cordelia haven’t moved much. The door doesn’t even make a sound when it closes. She turns to face an empty hallway and freezes. What should she do? Who should she go to? Reiji? Shuu? Kanato? Ayato?

She flinches at the thought of going to any of them. She glances back at the closed door, and a sense of resolve fills her. She has to get Yui back, and she has to help Laito. It’s only fair. After all, he did help her when he didn’t have to. She turns and tries to hurry down the hallway. Every limping step sends a new sense of pain radiating throughout her body. While she walks, she checks over her body for injuries. Her cheek and a small cut on her abdomen are the only places that have been cut. Most of the pain is radiating from her abdomen, but her cheeks seem to throb in time with each heartbeat. She barely manages to bite back a whimper each time she accidentally steps too heavy and jars the wound. The pain clouds her mind, and she finds that she’s still not sure who she is going to go to for help yet.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing?!” A harsh voice calls out, effectively stopping her. A small shred of relief fills her aching stomach. At least she won’t have to decide who to go to now. 

She slowly turns to look up into red eyes. Her body tilts before sagging heavily into the wall. She isn’t sure when it happened, but she finds that she’s out of breath. Every time she inhales or exhales, her abdomen aches. Subaru’s red eyes narrow and run along her body. She wants to shy away, but she can’t bring herself to even flinch. After his gaze returns to her face, he scoffs and states coldly. “He really did a number on you this time, didn’t he?”

Mai breathlessly shakes her head before gathering what strength she has left to give Subaru a stern gaze. She tries to tell him what happened, but her voice comes out in a hoarse, garbled whisper, which seems to only frustrate Subaru.

“Are you asking for something?”

“...lp……” She coughs. “Lai…. ti… Cord….”

Pink dusts what she can see of his cheeks before he practically growls. “I don’t need to know what type of bondage you two are into!”

To her horror, he turns his back on her. She lunges to grab the back of his shirt. Unfortunately, her abdomen chooses that point to cramp, effectively distracting her. She ends up plowing into the back of him instead of just moving enough to grab him. Pain explodes through her abdomen, causing her vision to go white for a moment. The next thing she knows, she’s sprawled out on the ground with Subaru leaning over her with a rare look of amusement on his face. Humiliation fills her body, and she wants to curl into a fetal position, but she’s not sure her abdomen muscles will allow it. Her humiliation only grows when Subaru says. “Wow, you’re pathetic, aren’t you?”

She’s happy to finally hear something other than anger coloring his voice, but she still can’t bite back the huff of frustration. This isn’t how it’s supposed to go. She’s suppose to be getting help, yet here she is laying flat on her back while being laughed at. Well, Subaru isn’t exactly laughing, but it’s still the closest she’s ever heard him get. After a few seconds of silence, she finally works up the courage to at least sit up. Pain racks her body, but she manages to achieve her goal. She doesn’t even think twice about her next actions. She simply acts.

Her hand wraps around his pant leg, and she tugs lightly. The look of amusement quickly turns into one of annoyance, but she doesn’t give him time to shake her off or say anything harsh. Instead, she breathlessly says the name of someone that she thinks will be of some help. “Ayato. Please. Take….”

Her voice trails off when her face gives a particularly painful throb. Her hands tighten on his pant leg, and she feels the air rush from her lungs. She has no idea what Cordelia did, but it feels like she’s been run over by a truck. She flinches away when she sees movement out of the corner of her eye. Her attention turns in that direction, but there is nothing there. The sound of movement close by causes her head to snap back only to find Subaru squatting in front of her. She flinches when his hand suddenly reaches out, causing him to pause. A look of pure anger flashes over his face, and he snaps. “Hold the fuck still!”

She almost cringes away, but she somehow manages to keep herself from doing so. His cold fingers prod the cut on her cheek, causing her to release a sigh of contentment. Without realizing it, her eyes slide closed, and she leans her cheek further into his hand. The cold feeling seems to seep into her skin, contrasting the burning sensation. Disappointment fills her body when the pleasant cold feeling disappears. She opens her eyes to get ready to protest when the unthinkable happens.

Two arms wrap around her body. One is under her shoulder blades, while the other is under her knees. Her body becomes weightless for a moment, and she finds herself cradling uncomfortably close to Subaru’s body. She doesn’t even get a chance to demand that Subaru put her down. A spinning sensation fills her body for a moment before disappearing. Once again, she doesn’t get a chance to say anything to Subaru before he unceremoniously dumps her in a chair. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have the proper posture to catch herself, and the chair is surprisingly hard. It feels like she was just dumped on the floor. A yelp is torn from her throat, but Subaru is already gone.

Unfortunately, she’s not the only one to hear it.

“Are you fucking kidding me?! What the hell is wrong with you?!”

Mai’s gaze snaps in the direction of the voice. All of her strength returns in the form of adrenaline. She surges upright and crosses the room in a matter of seconds. Her hands find the front of his clothes, and she leans in close, just in case her voice fails her. “It’s…

Ayato roughly shoves her away, and she stumbles backwards, but she manages to keep her balance somehow, despite the pain. She’s determined to not let it deter her though. Instead, she says in a rush. “Something is wrong with Yui.”

The minute she utters Yui’s name, she finds Ayato’s undivided attention on her. She doesn’t give him a chance to get impatient. She says in a rush. “There is very something wrong. We went to talk alone, and she changed. She said that she felt like something was always there. She said that she felt different. Then she looked down and back up, but it wasn’t Yui. Her eyes weren’t red. They were green. You’re green.”

She can see Ayato stiffen, but she doesn’t stop. She breathlessly continues on to say. “She was trying to get me to help her ki…”

She finds that she can’t say the word, so she skips over it. “.. you, but I just can’t do it. She tried to say that you are only using Yui. I don’t agree with you being with her, because she’s such a kind and gentle person, but I do know the two of you love each other. When she realized that wasn’t working, she switched tactics and tried to tell me that Laito doesn’t love me, but I knew that already! I just... “

“You keep saying ‘she’. Who is ‘she’?” Ayato asks in a barely audible voice. Mai pauses for a moment before closing her eyes and releasing a soft breath to recapture her nerves. Unfortunately, they seem intent on keeping just out of reach, so she decides to just plow on.

“She said her name was Cordelia.”

Her voice goes silent after those words. It feels like something is crushing her. It feels like she is missing some giant piece of the puzzle, and she’s about to get blindsided. Ayato appears before her. His hands grip her upper arms in a bone crushing grip. His voice comes out so full of anger that Mai could have mistaken him for Subaru for a moment. “Where is Yui?”

Mai softly says, “Game room. This floor.”

She reaches up to awkwardly grab his elbow. She’s not sure why, but she says softly. “Laito helped me. Please don’t leave him behind. Please don’t hurt Yui. It’s not her fault!”

Ayato practically sneers at her before easily shaking her off. He takes a step away before glancing back at her with a look of disgust on his face. “Don’t bleed out all over Your Truly’s room.”

Mai gives him her best scowl, though she knows it’s not effective due to a wince that happens at the same time. She manages to snap out. “Oh, I’ll be sure to smear the walls with it while you are gone.”

He gives her one more disgusted look before stating. “Don’t throw up either, or you are cleaning it up.”

“It was one time, and it wasn’t even on you or your things! It was on Subaru!” She snaps, but he’s already gone. She allows herself to slowly sink all the way to the floor. She gingerly lays down on her side and pulls her knees to her chest. A wave of tiredness threatens to wash her away into the sea of unconsciousness. Just as she starts to doze, she feels something very lightly nudging her between her shoulder blades. She glances over her shoulder, but she doesn’t see anything. Deciding that it’s just in her head, she closes her eyes once more. Just like before, she feels a small prodding between her shoulder blades. Just like before, there is nothing there.

The voice is new though. It’s spoken directly into her ear. “If you want to help the bride, you have to get up.”

She groans in protest, but the nudging in her back has slowly become insistent. She carefully climbs to her feet, but the nudging doesn’t stop. Instead, it chances into light shoving. She can hear several voices overlapping. “Hurry. Hurry, Mai! If he reaches her, it’ll be too late!”

She reluctantly makes her way toward the door, though she has no idea who ‘he’ is. She finally reaches the door and jerks it open. Unfortunately, the hallway isn’t empty like she’s hoping for. Cold red eyes turn to meet hers. It’s a face that she doesn’t immediately recognize, though she knows it’s familiar. She barely manages to repress a groan of pain and leans against Ayato’s doorway while staring up at him. He gives her a cold sneer before turning away. Black dots start to form along the edges of her vision, and the sound of a hauntingly familiar voice says softly in her ear. “Mai, if you want to help Yui, keep Richter from reuniting with Cordelia!”

After these words are spoken, a sense of urgency floods Mai. She’s not sure why, but she peels herself away from the doorframe and reaches out to grab Richter. Unfortunately, he seems to have heard her moving and quickly side steps her advance, causing her to stumble past him. Once her balance is regained, she spins to face the furious vampire before her. The sense of urgency continues to grow to a near hysterical point, but she can’t seem to locate where it’s coming from. It feels like she’s stuck in a panicking crowd. The overwhelming feeling cause her to not think properly, so she blurts out. “Richter, I need to see Tougo.”

She cringes away from the violent snarl, but she forces herself to straighten back up. There is no point in cowering away from him, especially when she has a feeling that this is the ‘he’ the voice was referring to. Unfortunately, she finds herself releasing a sharp gasp and doubles over in pain. Between the pain and the growing hysteria, she finds herself unable to form a single coherent thought. She’s barely aware that Richter brushes past her. Her panic continues to mount when the nausea inducing scent of rot washes over her. Her gaze snaps around, but she doesn’t see the women approaching yet. She tries to tell herself that she has nothing to fear from them, but it still induces a sense of terror when she smells them coming. Without a single thought, she finds herself lunging for Richter, but he once again evades her grasp. He spins on her with a cold snarl. “Don’t touch me, disgusting human.”

He turns away from her once more, and she expects him to disappear before her eyes. To her surprise, she finds that he doesn’t move a single muscle. She takes a cautious step toward him, but a voice halts any further advancement.

“Are you the reason she is here?”

It sounds almost like a whine with a hint of strange hopefulness. The sense of urgency seems to disappear almost instantly. In fact, Mai finds that she can now think clearly again. She cautiously leans to the side, trying to ignore the horrible pain in her abdomen at the action. Once again, she is surprised to see who is now blocking Richter’s path.

“Move aside, brat,” Richter coldly states. Mai turns her gaze back to the green haired vampire, but it only lasts a moment.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Kanato states with a deadly calm voice. Mai’s eyes flick back to Kanato, and she sees an opening that she can’t pass up. If the voice is to be believed, she can’t allow Richter anywhere near Yui right now.

“You aren’t being fair,” Mai says softly. She cringes when both vampires turn their attention to her. Gathering what shattered courage she has left, she fixes a cold look on Richter and says as sternly as she can manage. “He has a right to know, you know.”

“Shut up, bitch” Richter hisses at her.

“Richter! Don’t you dare ignore me!” Kanato’s voice seems to echo through the hallway, and Mai’s heart starts to race. She knew that this spur of the moment plan could possibly backfire on her. Kanato is unpredictable in a good mood, but she has to something. She waits till Richter’s furious red gaze turns to face a very upset, purple haired vampire to put as much emotion as she can into saying loudly.

“He’s your nephew! Don’t you have a heart?! You should give him what he wants! He’s her son! If she’s here, you have to tell him! It’s his right! You’re just being cruel! How dare you keep such vital inf-”

Her voice is lost to the sound of both Richter’s and Kanato’s. Slowly, she begins to back away from them. Richter looks ready to kill Kanato, but it seems like Kanato doesn’t really care. Tears are running down his face, but he still somehow manages to wear a furious look. Once she is what she deems to be a safe distance, she spins and staggers down the hallway. She needs to get as far away from the angry vampires as possible, since it’s likely that she’ll somehow become a target for one of them. She doesn’t know much about Richter, since she has only seen him a handful of times, but she knows she doesn’t want to be on the receiving end of Kanato’s rage. She can only hope that she had worked Kanato up enough to distract Richter for a while.

She casts a glance over her shoulder before shuddering softly. They’re out of sight now, but she can still hear them. She considers going to Laito’s room, but the thought sends a shudder down her spine. She has a feeling that Cordelia might look there first. There is also the off chance that Laito might rekindle his relationship with her.

The thought makes her feel sick to her stomach. Could he claim that it isn’t as twisted if it happens while she’s in Yui’s body? Her heart sinks to the pit of her stomach, and she slows to a stop in the hallway and leans against the wall.

No. She doesn’t want think about this. It’ll hurt so many people if something like that happens. She presses the side of her head against the wall and closes her eyes. She knew Ayato won’t admit it, but he’ll be furious and hurt. Mai hates to think about the possibility, but she thinks he does in fact harbor true feelings for the petite blond. Yui has to be in there somewhere, and it’s going to be like she’s trapped in a prison, helpless to watch what Cordelia does with her body. Mai closes her eyes and releases a sigh. She can’t imagine loving someone only to be taken over and have to watch that relationship deteriorate over something that she has no control over. It’ll likely break Yui, especially when it is with someone who looks so much like her loved one.

And she refuses to admit it out loud, but she has a nagging feeling that it’ll hurt her, too. She doesn’t think that she’s falling for Laito, but she knows that she at least views him as a twisted friend. She cringes a little at that thought, but she knew it’s true. Despite everything he’s done to her, he has done some kind things too, and he always seems to be there to help when she needs it, whether she wants him there or not.

An idea floats to the surface. Her eyes open, and a shudder runs down her spine. She isn’t sure she can trust him, not after last time, but it’s the only solid idea she has. It’s either him or Subaru, but she doesn’t think the silver haired vampire will really want to help her. Still, she feels like every muscle in her body is on fire. That fact alone settles her choice. Laito’s room is so far away from where she currently is, while she is relatively close to both Subaru and Reiji’s room. She lightly touches her stomach and hisses in pain before quickly pulling her hand away.

The adrenaline completely drains away leaving her body feeling like a roiling mass of pain. Her shaking hand stares down at the red coloring her skin. Thankfully, it’s not an alarming amount. Her gaze slowly turns from her hand to her abdomen and inspects the cut once more. The scratch isn’t that long. In fact, it looks to be only about three or four inches long, but it still continues to slowly seep blood out without any sign of stopping soon. The thought makes her feel sick to her stomach. Some sort of red flag will be raised if she’s admitted to the hospital again. A deep concerning bruise is forming all the way out from the wound. It’s such a deep colored purple that it appears black, and it reaches from her pubic bone all the way up to disappear under her shirt. She pulls her shirt higher, exposing the bottom part of her bra. The bruising reaches all the way to the bottom few ribs on her ribcage. She cringes. She should remember how it happened, but she can’t. She hates to admit it, but she doesn’t want to remember.

“You should’ve told me that you wanted me to see you without any clothes on,” a lazy voice interrupts her thoughts. She jerks her shirt down, and two things happen. The first is a horrible tearing sound. The second is the air in her lungs rushes out in a painful gasp, and she almost lets herself collapse. Thankfully, she’s able to catch herself and turns a frustrated look in the direction of the voice. Shuu is standing not far behind her. She can still hear the distant sound of arguing followed by the sound of something breaking. She cringes at the thought of Kanato’s temper, but she can’t fight the smile of Richter getting knocked down a notch.

A frown quickly takes over the smile. At least, she hopes Kanato can take Richter down a notch. She hadn’t thought of that at the time. Even more guilt starts to gnaw at her insides. Not only had she abandoned Laito and her friend, but she hadn’t even thought about how Kanato would fair.

Which brought up another question. Had Laito actually been helping her? Or was he simply wanting to see Cordelia again?

Once again, she finds herself sick to her stomach. Her gaze drops to the floor, but she doesn’t get long to stew on her guilt since Shuu releases a sigh, drawing her attention. He starts past her with a lazy gait. She’s not sure why, but she reaches out to grab his sleeve. His tired blue eyes turn to face her. She hesitates for a moment, since she’s unsure what to say. After silently reminding herself it’s for Yui’s benefit, she softly says, “I need your help. I need to get to Reiji. It’s Yui. Sh-”

“Bothersome,” Shuu sighs softly and gives a small shake of his head. She can’t stop herself from rolling her eyes at his behavior and pulls at his sleeve more insistently. Once she recaptures his attention, she stares into his tired blue eyes and chooses her words carefully.

“Shuu, I can’t make it to his room by myself. It’s getting really painful now.”

“I don’t see how this concerns me.”

Mai barely bites back a snarl. She swears that she can see a twinkle of amusement in his eyes, but she’s not sure. She’s never sure when it comes to the blonde vampire. She takes a slow breath before trying again, only this time she says it sternly. “Yui’s in trouble. I would really like to help her, and I need your help to do that.”

She hears a soft scoff and expects him to mutter about how bothersome she is being again. To her surprise, she hears him say. “We’re all aware of what is happening.”

Her entire body stiffens for a moment, and she has to remind herself that they all have better than senses than her. She cringes at the thought. Could they have heard her that ni-? She crushes the thought before she can even complete it. She returns her attention to Shuu, only to see the light hint of amusement still floating just beneath the surface. Her eyes narrow a little. His amusement never bodes well for her. It isn’t as painful as Laito’s, but it doesn’t seem to make it any less humiliating.

She decides to not dwell on it. If she wants his help, she’ll have to do something for him. There always seems to be one thing that he wants. She struggles to gather her courage by telling herself that it’s for her friend’s sake. Once she’s able to piece what she can together, she shakingly holds out her hand to him. He glances at it with his usual disinterested look before slowly looking back up to her. She somehow manages to force between gritted teeth. “You want blood, right?”

He’s silent for a few seconds, but it feels like hours. Impatience starts to eat away at her. She doesn’t have time to wait for him to decide. Finally, she’s had enough. Her hand drops back to her side, and she releases his sleeve. It looks like she’s going to have to slowly make her way to Reiji’s room. Tears of frustration and pain well up in her eyes, but she stubbornly holds them back. Only seconds later, humiliation mixes with the other two bitter emotions. She doesn’t like crying in front of the brothers. They always seem to pray on it like it’s some sort of delicacy. She tries to swallow the tears back and forces her mind on the task at hand. She’s already wasted time on Shuu. She should’ve known better. She should’ve just gone to Reiji without a second thought.

The thought of trying to find Subaru makes her uneasy. He’s easily violent and highly unpredictable. She isn’t sure he’d actually be willing to help, but she honestly doesn’t think he’s as cruel as he plays off being. She believes that he’s doing the best he can with his situation. If anything, she thinks he’s probably misunderstood. Still, it doesn’t excuse the violent outbursts he’s prone to, nor does it excuse any wrong he’s done.

Though she’s sure she’d be pretty cranky too if she grew up with siblings like the ones he has.

She’s almost past Shuu when his voice stops her.

“You’ll owe me three times.”

Her body feels numb, and her thoughts begin to race. She slowly returns to the wall and leans on it. She quickly scrapes her brain for what he’s talking about. When she can’t come up with anything, she narrows her eyes to give Shuu a suspicious look. The silence continues to stretch, and she scrapes her brain once again. She jumps when a sigh cuts through her thoughts. Once her attention is turned back to him, he teasingly says. “One favor is for ruining my bed with your nasty, wet smell.”

She levels him with a stern stare. “That was not my fault. It was Laito’s! He’s the one who pushed me into the pool!”

A smirk spreads over Shuu’s face, and his eyes narrow a little. He lifts two fingers and continues to state playfully. “The second is for sleeping on my floor without permission and making a mess of my closet, perv.”

She bristles at the name, but she doesn’t say anything. She can’t ever win when it comes to Shuu. Instead, she childishly sticks her tongue out. Unfortunately, this time turns out different than any other time. He moves quicker than she would’ve thought possible. His cold fingers grasp her tongue before she can suck it back into her mouth and pulls on it just enough that she has to lean up onto the tips of her toes to avoid any extra pain. She glares at him the best she can, but she can barely think about much past the pain in her stomach. Thankfully, this only lasts a few seconds, but those seconds might as well have been hours. During this time, Shuu’s face becomes dangerously close to hers. For a brief moment, she panics and wonders what he’s about to do. Thankfully, he just leans close to her ear. A shudder slowly works down her spine when he states. “I got you.”

Once he releases her, she stumbles back and falls onto her butt. Unfortunately, this turns out to be the worst possible outcome for her. Pain races all the way out to her fingertips. She’s not sure when it happened, but she finds herself curled up on her side while holding her abdomen the best she can without actually touching it. She hears him chuckling and sends a cold glare in his direction out of the corner of her eye. Shuu stares down at her for a moment, then a tired look passes over his face. His eyes slowly travel over her body, and it takes her a moment to realize what he is silently telling her. Her gaze drops to find that her shirt had torn even wider earlier, and it’s now revealing a large chunk of her bra on one side due to the way she is laying. She releases a groan and forces herself to sit up.

“How do I repay you for those favors? Do you want blood again?”

Silence is her only answer. Just as she begins to lose her patience again, he slowly leans against the wall beside her and slides down to sit on the floor. His eyes drift closed, and his voice becomes so soft she has to strain to hear it. “Not everyone is after blood.”

She frowns at him for a moment before saying words she knows she’ll regret. “Listen, I really want to help Yui. She’s a good friend to me, so I… I will ac-”

Thankfully, she manages to catch herself before blindly accepting whatever he has in store for her. If there is anything she’s learned from dealing with Laito, it’s that she shouldn’t jump into decisions without putting some actual thought into it. She takes a moment to really look him over.

She doesn’t have time for uncertainties, but she doesn’t have enough life chances to keep gambling away. She’ll run out, and it’s likely going to be soon. The hallways have become eerily silent, and she can feel an uneasy sense of worry for Kanato settling in the pit of her stomach. Perhaps she’d worked him up too much. With a firm shake of her, she dismisses that thought. Her thoughts turn back to her problem with Shuu. Her gaze fixates on his face, and it appears he’s fallen asleep. It takes some struggle, but she finally settles on a plan. With a tiny sense of accomplishment, she says. “I have some restrictions. One of them is nothing of… sexual nature. I’m not going to...have sex with you.”

A light blush forms over her face when she says that. That statement was harder to get through than she thought it’d be. She opens her mouth to continue on when Shuu interrupts her with amusement coloring his tone. “They are my favors, but I will promise you that I’m not Laito. I won’t use dirty tricks to get you to sleep with me. If you want to, though ‘when’ is more practical, you’ll be the one choosing.”

Her eyes narrow a little. Why did ‘choosing’ sound more like ‘doing all the work’? She rolls her eyes at her train of thought. It doesn’t matter how he said it. It isn’t going to happen. “You sound awfully arrogant there. I can almost see a resemblance to Ayato.”

He either doesn’t care enough to answer, or, the more likely scenario, he isn’t listening to her. His eyes are shut, so she also considers the possibility that he simply fell asleep. To her surprise, he says. “You’ll be the one choosing. It’s too troublesome to try.”

If Mai wasn’t already sitting on the ground, she’s sure she would’ve fallen over. She never expected to hear a male say that sex is too troublesome to work for. She isn’t sure if she should laugh or feel sorry for Shuu. Instead, she deadpans. “Let me guess. I’d be doing all the work, right?”

A small smirk is her only answer. She rolls her eyes, but she still has to bite back the laughter. How could Shuu make such an uncomfortable subject even more uncomfortable?

Still, Shuu isn’t harmless by any means. In many ways, he’s probably more manipulative than Laito is. She glances up and down the hallway before turning to look at him. “Alright. Fine. We’ll make this a deal, but only after you listen to my conditions. If you interrupt one more time, I’ll leave.”

Thankfully, he responds by a small nod of his head. She doesn’t give him a chance to second guess himself. “No sex. No groping. I’d prefer if you didn’t take my blood, but I’m willing to trade it for her life. Also, there is a time limit for each one. I’m only willing to serve them for a day, but I’ll go as far as a week if it’s something simple like helping you with homework or something, though you are older than me. I’m not going to dress in some stupid outfit either. I’ll dress how I normally dress.”

It’s silent for a few minutes, and her heart starts to sink. Is he going to deny her? Thankfully, he finally says. “I agree.”

Her heart skips a beat, and she doesn’t feel like she’s sold herself to something evil this time. Though, she does feel an uncomfortable feeling deep in the pit of her stomach. Slowly, Shuu lifts his hand and lazily gestures for her to approach him. Reluctantly, she carefully rolls onto her hands and knees and crawls her way over to him. She fully expects him to lash out an arm and grab her, which is why she’s instantly suspicious when he doesn’t move at all. After a moment, he gestures for her to get even closer. She gives him a doubtful look but scoots a few inches closer. One hand lifts to seal the hole in her shirt. He gestures for her to get even closer. Frustration builds, but she silently does as he asks. This continues until her knees are touching his side, and she is leaning awkwardly over him. Without warning, he leans up. His chest lightly presses against hers, and his face buries itself in her neck. His arm wraps loosely around her waist, but it doesn’t pull her closer. Before she has a chance to protest or jerk away, the familiar sense of spinning overwhelms her. Once it stops, Shuu leans on her heavily. Unfortunately, she doesn’t expect to go from kneel to standing, so she isn’t ready to support his weight. She stumbles back, but her luck continues to escape her when something collides with the back of her knees. The horrible sensation of falling overtakes her, and she releases a startled yelp.

Several things happen all at once. Her back collides with something soft, but it has hard edges. Unfortunately, she finds this out when her shoulder painfully rams into it. Her legs are resting over the top of something soft. Sadly, this leaves her pelvis elevated.

The second part is more painful. Shuu didn’t even try to catch himself. Instead, he followed her down. His shoulder slams into her chin, effectively smashing her teeth together. Every tooth in her mouth gives out a painful throb, but she’s happy that she didn’t bite her lip or tongue. The next part is even more embarrassing. Her legs had spread in her flailing to regain her balance. One of Shuu’s legs had found it’s way in between hers and now is pressed against the apex of her thighs. The only amusing thing is the fact that her leg had ended up between his, so when they fell it drove her leg up into him. He released a painful grunt in her ear, which sends a thrilled tingle through her body. Still, it’s not enough to get her to laugh. His weight effectively drove her breath away, and she can’t seem to regain it. It doesn’t help that he relaxed against her the moment they made impact, effectively leaving him as little more than dead weight. Tears of pain prickle at the edges of her eyes, easily keeping the breath from her lungs. Shuu’s body presses on the already tender bruise.

A sigh of pure irritation grabs Mai’s attention. She turns her gaze upward to see a look of disgust filling Reiji’s face. She wants to shrink away at the look, even though she knows it’s directed at the back of Shuu’s head. She pushes on Shuu with all her might, but all she manages to do is lift him a little before her arms give out. He drives what little air she has from her lungs, and she unintentionally releases a whimper. Her gaze shifts from Shuu’s shoulder to Reiji. Humiliation colors her cheeks when she sees he’d lifted his hand to his face cover his face at some point. His eyes are closed, and a look of annoyance spreads over his face. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Mai manages to gasp out. “I need your help.”

Reiji’s eyes slowly open and find hers. “I suppose you’re the reason that his stench will linger in my room for months?”

His voice is so icy that she flinches, which causes the pain in her abdomen to flair up even more. She bites the tears back again and forces herself to talk in an effort to ignore the pain. “It’s Yui. She….”

“I’m well aware of what is going on with her,” Reiji coldly states. He turns away from her, and panic fills her body. Is he not even going to listen to her? She tries to rock Shuu off, but she feels like she’s fighting gravity, and the couch she’s pinned against doesn’t allow her to get a good angle on the body above her. The pain isn’t helping either. Unfortunately, Reiji disappeared behind the back of the couch. Desperation overwhelms her, and she finds it threading it’s way though her voice.

“Wait! Please, Reiji! You can help her! I know you can!”

She hears a scoff and closes her eyes tightly. She needs to see his face to see if she’s saying the right words to stroke his ego. Once again, she tries to rock Shuu off of her. Somehow, she manages to wiggle enough to slowly roll him off. He lands on the floor with a solid thump followed by a groan, but he doesn’t bother to move. She tries to quickly scramble to her knees, but the pain in her abdomen causes her to hiss. Black threatens to cover her vision again. Somehow, she manages to fight it off, though she ends up slowing her movements down to an agonizing pace. Once she settles on her knees, she peeks over the couch to look at Reiji’s back. He appears to be standing beside a bookshelf. She silently wonders just how many books he owned, but she pushes the thought away and says as confidently as she can. “Reiji, I know you can help her. Please help Yui.”

He releases another scoff and coldly states, “Of course I can.”

She patiently for him to continue. Seconds quickly tick by. She shifts a little and says softly. “Reiji, you’re so smart that this’ll be cakewalk.”

He turns to face her, and she has to force herself not to duck behind the couch. His voice is just as bitingly cold as his stare. “Good grief, those pathetic tactics may work on that good for nothing or even Laito; however, pretty words don’t mean much to me.”

Mai feels herself cringing, despite her best efforts. It feels like her entire body becomes deflated. That’s when a new voice cuts in. “Is this where I say ‘I told you so’?”

Mai turns her attention to the talking ‘lump’ on the floor. She faintly hears a soft sneer, but she doesn’t turn her attention back to Reiji. Instead, she gives Shuu a confused look. He slowly rolls onto his back and gives a light stretch. His eyes remain closed, and he settles back into a more comfortable position. One of his legs is stretched out, while the other is lifted slightly. One of his arms rests over his stomach, while the other is tucked beneath his head like a pillow. A small strip of skin is revealed just above the hem of his pants. Mai’s eyes narrow at him when one of his eyes opens just enough that she can see blue.

“What are you talking about?” She cautiously asks.

A small smile spreads over his face before the eye slides closed again. He shifts a little and says in a tired voice. “He can’t do it. That’s why he is denying you.”

That statement drives home what Shuu is doing. It’s also when she notices the hand resting over his stomach is clearly signalling four fingers. Irritation builds in her stomach, and she can’t help but make a face at him, though she flinches when she hears an uncharacteristic snarl from Reiji’s direction. She peeks over the couch to see his face twisted into disgust and anger for only a moment before it smooths back into its’ indifferent mask. Despite herself, she finds a feeling of sympathy building for Reiji, though she’s careful to keep off her face. She doesn’t think he’d appreciate it. Shuu lets out a sigh and slowly sits up, drawing Mai’s attention back to him. His voice is exhausted when he says. “I suppose there is only one person smart enough to help that pathetic woman.”

“Shuu!” Mai hisses softly, but it seems she’s too late. Reiji appears beside the couch and glares down at his older brother with an expression that can only be described as someone who just stepped in dog poop. Mai quickly says. “Reiji, I’m sorry. Don’t li-”

His red eyes turn to look at her with the same expression he’d given Shuu, and she finds herself painfully shrinking away from him. She makes sure to bite her lip hard to keep from whimpering. The last thing she wants to do is upset Reiji further by making too much noise. His voice is even colder than normal. “Do not apologize on this spineless person’s behalf. Do not cover up his faults.”

She feels like there is more that he wants to say, but he cuts himself short. His gaze turns back to Shuu, who appears bored by the exchange. After a short staring contest between brothers, Reiji finally states. “I have no desire to help Yui, nor do I have any desire to help you out.”

She simply nods, though the bitter taste of defeat fills her mouth. Her gaze drops down to her abdomen, and she fights the tears with all her might. Even though Reiji didn’t work out, she’ll still do what she has to. She’ll even team up with Ayato to do it. Between the two of them, they should be able to figure something out. A sigh draws her attention up. To her surprise, she finds Reiji’s fingers lightly pushing up his glasses. His voice has returned to its’ usual, coldly polite tone. “However, we cannot let that woman run amuck within these walls.”

Hope fills Mai’s chest, but she quickly crushes it. She stubbornly tells herself to not get her hopes up. Reiji turns his full attention on her and seems to regard her with a contemplating look. To her surprise, he gracefully sits himself on the opposite end of the couch. Frustration fills her body when she finds that Shuu left her there alone. She silently tells herself that she never agreed to the fourth favor, so he can shove it where the sun don’t shine. She jumps when a gloved hand touches her cheek. Pain races through her face, and she flinches away. Her eyes easily find Reiji’s. His voice is low when he asks her to explain what happened. She quickly does so before adding at the very end. “I think she’s struggled against her, but I don’t think Yui really understands what is going on. I don’t even think I know what is going on.”

During her explanation, Reiji carefully prodded her cheeks and inspected her abdomen. Thankfully, he didn’t lift her shirt far. It takes a few minutes, but she finds herself bandaged up. Once she is bandaged, Reiji stands and moves out of sight. After a few minutes of silence, she finds herself staring at her knees while trying to fight the worry coiling deep in the pit of her stomach. Reiji didn’t tell her to leave, so she doesn’t think he minded her being there. Finally, she glances over her shoulder to look for Reiji. It doesn’t take long to find him. He seems to be mixing some sort of disgusting colored liquids together. Still, a question weighs on her mind, and she can’t keep it silent anymore. Cautiously, she asks, “Reiji?”

He makes a soft sound that she assumes is the go ahead to ask. “Does…. Is she going to be alright?”

He releases a sigh, but he doesn’t turn to look at her. His simple answer is. “If her willpower is strong enough, then I assume she’ll be able to struggle against that woman.”

Mai swallows hard and whispers her next question. “What about Laito?”

She flinches at the fact that she sounds worried about the cruel, red haired vampire and states quickly. “What about Ayato and Kanato as well?”

When she hears Reiji’s sigh, she flushes and turns her gaze back to her lap. Worry starts to gnaw into the embarrassment, and she casts a cautious look in Reiji’s direction. He hasn’t stopped working. Finally, he coldly says. “I’m not going to reassure your silly fears. If you’re worried about them, you shouldn’t have left them.”

She feels guilt join into the mix. To her surprise, Reiji continues talking. “On that note, I’ll tell you that Ayato and Laito grew up with Cordelia. They know the best way to handle her. Should Kanato be injured, it’ll be your fault for goading his hysterics. Richter is not one to take lightly, and I do not think that Kanato has enough experience to deal with him.”

She rests her elbows on her thighs and puts her hands over her face. Unfortunately, Reiji isn’t done talking. “You’ll have a part to play soon, so don’t waste your energy worrying about those you have already failed.”

She barely bites back the retort. The last thing she wants to do is upset Reiji to the point that he won’t help Yui. She slowly repositions in order to pull one leg up, but her abdomen gives a painful throb, so she lets it slide back to the floor. After a few minutes of silence, she says softly. “Reiji, I just want to say I’m sorry about what Shuu did. I didn’t th-”

“Enough.” That single word is enough to silence Mai completely. She flinches and closes her eyes. She wants to tell him that she wouldn’t have begged Shuu to take her if she had a choice, but her abdomen hurts so bad. His voice coldly cuts through her thoughts. “Get out. Tell the others to meet in the kitchen in an hour.”

“Will you…” She trails off. Perhaps it isn’t best to question him at the moment. It takes her a few minutes, but she finally gets up and leaves.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It turns out to be almost tear inducingly painful to walk. Still, she accomplishes what she set out to do. It takes most of the hour to knock on doors and tell them to meet in the kitchen. Once she is done, she limps to the kitchen only to find Reiji is already seated at the table, waiting patiently. She carefully chooses her seat as far away from him as possible and settles in to wait. Unfortunately, the only people to show up are a very irate, and bloodied, Kanato and a very irritated Subaru. Though she feels disappointed, Reiji doesn’t appear to be. He states. “We’re all aware of the situation at hand.”

He pauses, but no one speaks up. This doesn’t seem to bother him either. Mai finds herself squeezing her hands together in her lap. The anticipation is starting to wear on her nerves, and she isn’t sure that she how much more she can take. Finally, Reiji breaks the silence. “We’re going to do nothing.”

Those words hit her like a ton of bricks, and she finds it hard to wrap her head around them. Before she has a chance to second guess herself, she slams her hands on the table and leaps to her feet. It feels like she’s been punched in the stomach. The air rushes out of her lungs in a sharp exhale. She stubbornly leans on the table, intent on ignoring the pain. Unfortunately, she’s not the only one outraged by this.

“You can’t just…..!”

“This is stupid….!”

“.....Richter invaded our…..!”

“...this! We have to…!”

“.....I demand that you….!”

Mai and Kanato yell at the same time. Their words become a garbled mess, and both start to yell even louder, trying to out do each other. Reiji’s lips move, but his voice is lost in the commotion. Kanato’s furious, purple eyes turn on Mai, but she ignores the cold insults he begins to yell in her direction and continues to try to convince Reiji to help Yui. Finally, Subaru seems to have had enough. He gets to his feet, drawing Mai’s attention. The look of pure anger on his face sends her heart to her throat. Fortunately, adrenaline helps her quickly move away from the table. Subaru’s voice easily cuts through Kanato’s wailing. “Shut the hell up!!!”

The table gives under the pressure of Subaru’s fist. The cracking of wood is so deafening that it halts all other sounds. Everything falls silent save for Subaru’s ragged panting. Mai’s finds it hard to breath and watches him cautiously. Finally, Reiji’s harsh voice snaps. “Subaru!”

He practically snarls at Reiji before turning his angry gaze on everyone in the room. Finally, his cold furious gaze turns back to Reiji, and he snaps. “You suggest we do nothing? That’s bullshit!”

Gratitude fills her chest, but she silently turns her attention to Reiji. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Kanato is tightly clenching Teddy to his chest. It’s silent until Reiji finally sighs. He reaches to push up his glasses. With his eyes closed, he says. “We can’t hope to outwit her, though we may have a chance of getting close to her.”

Reiji’s eyes open to meet Mai’s. It feels like a bucket of ice cold water is poured over her. She glances around to find the other two looking at her. Despite her panic, she turns a confident gaze on Reiji and asks, “What do I have to do?”

She can feel her body shaking, so she’s happy her voice comes out more confident than she thought it would. Reiji seems to be observing her for a moment before he releases another sigh and pushes up his glasses again. His voice is barely audible. “Allow her to grow closer to you. Use your relationship with Yui to put Cordelia at ease. Once you have that type of relationship with her, you’ll come to see me. I’ll make something to get rid of her.”

Mai nods once, but something’s still bothering her. She clears her throat and forces herself to ask. “What are you planning to do? Kill Cordelia?”

Reiji gives her a simple nod. She frowns for a moment before asking her next dreaded question. “What will happen to Yui?”

Reiji doesn’t say anything, but his silence is answer enough. Mai starts to shake her head. There is no way that she’ll be a part of a plan that will harm Yui. She swallows hard starts to say. “I’m no-”

“This isn’t up to you,” Reiji states coldly. “This woman being here affects us all.”

Full blown panic fills Mai’s chest, and she turns to look at the others. Neither of them seem to be as concerned as her. She turns her attention back to Reiji and states coldly. “We’re not hurting Yui, Reiji.”

He frowns down at her like a disapproving parent, but he doesn’t respond. Mai grits her teeth, and her desperation turns to anger. She quietly says, “I won’t do it.”

Her voice begins to quiver, but she continues to stubbornly stares at Reiji, who gazes back with a cool expression. Finally, he releases a sigh and continues on with his explanation. “We’re going to do nothing. We’ll treat the situation just like any other day. Do not interact with her if you do not have to. Mai’ll attempt to get as close to her as she will allow.”

His eyes shift back to Mai, and he gives her a serious look. “You’ll have to make this work. Use your connections to our father and use your connection to Laito.”

“That’s…” Mai starts to say, but Reiji cuts her off.

“If you gain her approval within the next month or two, Yui may still be there. Past that, and I’m afraid she’ll no longer exist. You have a time limit, so don’t be afraid to use whatever means necessary. If you don’t, then you won’t beat her. Cordelia is crafty, so you’ll have to be weary of her traps. You’ll need to get her to trust you enough that you can slip some of my poison to her. It should help the pathetic bride win the internal struggle against that vile woman.”

Mai feels like her mouth has gone dry. She swallows hard before reluctantly nodding. The plan doesn’t sit well with her, but she has to do something. Silence settles over the four of them for a few moments, and Mai’s thoughts turn to her encounter with Cordelia. The thought of having to get close makes Mai’s skin crawl, and she has no idea where to even begin. She’s faintly aware that Reiji is clearing his throat. “Mai.”

Her name captures her attention, and she turns her gaze back to him. He’s frowning at her once again. His voice is low, as if he is sharing something between just the two of them. “Avoid Ayato if you can. He’ll interfere with our plans.”

It feels like she’s going to be sick, but she nods slowly. Reiji doesn’t show any sign of approving. Instead, he adds. “Do not inform Laito either. He’s a loose cannon under the best of circumstances. His relationship with that woman is muddy and complicated. Should you require help, come to one of us.”

Mai finds herself numbly nodding again. In a matter of moments, she’s alone in the kitchen. Her eyes find the broken table, and she frowns again. She doesn’t trust Reiji, but she doesn’t know what else to do. Slowly, an idea comes to mind. She isn’t sure it’ll help or make matters worse, but she doesn’t want to just blindly follow Reiji. With a deep breath, she tries, and fails, to calm her nerves. Finally she gives up and turns on her heel to slowly exit the room.

She’s only halfway to her destination when her phone rings in her pocket. She slows enough to pull it out before trying to quicken her pace once more. With a hiss, she ends up having to slow back down. A hint of surprise fills her when she finds that it wasn’t broken in Cordelia’s assault. Without paying much attention to who is calling her, she slides to answer the call and lifts it to her ear. “Hello?”

“Mai?” A deep voice asks, causing her to flinch. She slows to a stop. Concern colors her friend’s tone. “Are you alright?”

She silently curses. This is the worst time for Shiro to call, and it doesn’t help that she’s panting like she just ran a mile. Her voice is filled with pain when she pants out. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just… um….. Just….”

Her voice trails off for a moment. She closes her eyes, silently berating herself, and finishes lamely. “I’m just exercising?”

“Right,” Shiro states suspiciously. It’s awkwardly silent for a few seconds. Mai clears her throat, and they both start talking at the same time.

“It’s a bad time right now.”

“Can we meet up?”

Silence settles over them once more, and she releases a sigh. Her hand lifts to pinch the bridge of her nose. She has to get off the phone with him as soon as possible, but she can’t think of a believable excuse. She clears her throat again and tries to keep the annoyance out of her voice. “Look, Shiro, can I call you back in about ten minutes?”

“Mai, I have something I seriously need to discuss with you.” The urgency in his voice alarms her, but she stubbornly tells herself that high school drama can wait. She has more important things to be focused on. Things that demand her immediate attention.

“I.. I have something really important to do right now, Shiro. Can’t this wait?” She can hear impatience coloring her tone and flinches. He doesn’t understand the full gravity of her situation. In fact, she doesn’t think he even believed her in the first place, so there is no way she can even begin to explain that Yui is now possessed.

“No. This is important,” Shiro says in a more demanding tone. She opens her eyes to roll them but instantly feels guilty. Shiro doesn’t know what’s going on, so she should be more understanding. She takes a deep breath and releases it as a soft sigh. He continues on to say. “It’s about La-”

“I’m so sorry, Shiro. I’ll have to call you back. It’s…” She hesitates. She almost about told him about Yui, but she needs more time to figure out just what she’s going to do. After only a second’s hesitation, she says “It’s complicated, but I promise you that I’m alright. Everything is alright. We’ll talk in a minute.”

“No! Mai, you’re in da-”

She hangs up the phone and shoves it back into her pocket. The second her hand releases it, it starts to ring again. She chooses to ignore it and continues on her way. After the fourth phone call, she stops once more and angrily rips her phone from her pocket. She manages to only give a sharp intake at the crying muscles in her abdomen and quickly ignores Shiro’s phone call. That’s when she notices two text messages. She only glances at the first one.

You need to call me back right now! It’s very important! I have something I have to tell you!

Mai shoves the phone back into her pocket and finishes her journey. She stops in front of a door and takes a deep breath to steady her nerves. Once she feels as ready as she can be, she slips through the door. It takes her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness in Shuu’s room. Once they adjust the best they can, she sees a lump on the bed and pauses just long enough to find that the lump isn’t moving. She reluctantly creeps further into the room and pulls her phone. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees her phone is lit up due to Shiro calling her again. She rolls her eyes, carefully turns her phone away from herself, and lights up the night stand beside Shuu’s bed. It takes a bit of cautious searching, but she finally finds his phone shoved in the back a drawer. With one last look at Shuu, she slips out of the room. Her feet lead her in a different direction. One that she didn’t think she’d ever willingly use.

Finally, she arrives at the door to Laito’s room. After a few seconds of deep breathing, she reaches out and opens it. She cautiously pokes her head in and glances around. She feels a mixture of relief and apprehension. The room appears to be clear, but she doesn’t feel like that’s a good thing. With a deep breath to calm her nerves, she steps into the room, shuts the door, and locks it. She glances around the room again before making her way over to the bed. She carefully sits on it and lifts Shuu’s phone. She’s relieved she chose his phone, since he doesn’t actually have it locked. In fact, it appears to be a brand new phone. Nothing is installed. In fact, it still has a generic background. For a moment, she wonders if she got the wrong phone, but she pushes the thought away when she remembers who the phone belongs to. After a few seconds, she finds the contacts. To her surprise, there is only one contact in the phone. It reads ‘Karl Heinz’.

She hesitates for a moment. She feels like she’s invading Shuu’s privacy. With a sigh, she clicks on the contact. It pulls up, but all it shows the name and phone number. She rakes her brain to see if she can remember the name. She can’t be sure anymore, so she simply taps to call it and lifts it to her ear. Worst case scenario, she’ll be back at square one, only with a stolen phone.

The phone only rings once before a voice answers. “Well, what a surprise, Shuu. You never reach out to me.”

Her tongue suddenly feels like it’s made out of lead. Why didn’t she plan out what she was going to say before hand. After a few seconds, the voice asks, “Shuu?”

“Ah, I’m… sorry,” she lamely apologizes. The sound of the voice changes. It becomes softer, almost gentle.

“Mai?”

Startled, she finds herself unable to respond for a few seconds. Finally, she squeaks out. “Who is this? Tougo Sakamaki?”

“It is.” The voice sounds so confident that Mai can feel her fears almost instantly melt away. She considers asking why he’s listed as ‘Karl Heinz’ in Shuu’s phone, but she decides against it. Perhaps it’s an inside joke of some sort. She finally settles on deciding to ask Shuu about it. That’s when she realizes that the silence has drug on for an uncomfortably long time. She desperately scrambles at the scraps of courage and quickly says.

“I’m so sorry! I don’t have your number in my phone! I know I should have programmed it in, but I didn’t!”

A pleasant chuckle on the other end somehow manages to ease her fears. After a moment of laughter, she hears Tougo say. “It’s alright, my dear. I don’t mind that you are using my son’s phone. I doubt he’ll even miss it. If you want to, you can keep it.”

“Oh,” Mai says. She flinches at how stupid she sounds and quickly tries to amend that by saying. “Oh, no, sir. I can’t take Shuu’s phone! I just… I need to talk to you about something.”

He hums softly in her ear, which she takes as a sign to continue. She swallows hard when a sense of longing threatens to overwhelm her. It feels like she’s talking to her own father. Her eyes drift closed, and she lets her body fall backwards onto the bed. Laito’s smell engulfs her, which isn’t a surprise considering where she is. What does come as a surprise is the fact that she takes some sense of comfort from it. She closes her eyes and says softly. “It’s… Yui.”

The other end is so silent that she wonders if she lost the call. She considers glancing at the phone to see if it got disconnected, but she decides to just jump into what happened with Yui before she lost her courage. She’s careful to only talk about Yui. The change in behavior and the temperature are the only things she mentions. For some reason, she finds herself unable to even consider telling him that she knew about Cordelia, but she does tell him a chunk of Reiji’s plan. The second she finishes, she draws in a breath and holds it.

The seconds tick by, and her lungs begin to burn. Still, she stubbornly continues to hold her breath. Unfortunately, she ends up having to release it and settles for closing her eyes. What remains of her hope leaves a bitter taste on her tongue. This is nothing but a dead end. She should have known their father would be just like them. She slowly rolls onto the side and opens her eyes to blankly stare at Laito’s green wall. A more likely scenario is that Shuu forgot to charge his phone, and it died in the middle of their conversation. She’s just about to let go of the phone when a sigh on the other end of the line causes her to jump.

“Reiji believes that to be the best course of action?” Tougo asks. His voice sounds business-like, causing a reluctant bit of hope to spark in the pit of her stomach. She nods for a moment before realizing that he can’t see her. She flushes a deep red and clears her throat.

“Yes.”

Silence falls once again, and Mai finds herself unable to break it. She can only wait with bated breath. She’s so wrapped up in apprehension that she jumps when he starts talking again. “I suppose Richter isn’t there?”

Mai opens her mouth, but she stops. A nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach prevents her from telling Tougo that Richter is there. It has nothing to do with protecting Richter since she doesn’t really know him,and she doesn’t really care what happens to him. Still, it might reveal something to Tougo that she doesn’t want to reveal. She finally settles on the fact that she isn’t sure she trusts Tougo completely, so it’s better to not reveal everything. With that decided, she says softly. “I don’t know where Richter is.”

It’s not a lie. She really doesn’t know his exact location. Thankfully, it seems to be enough of an explanation. Tougo says in an almost gentle voice. “I’ll think about this and get back to you. In the meantime, follow Reiji’s plan.”

Mai feels herself deflate. She’d been hoping for more concrete answers, but she hadn’t gotten anything from this conversation. She closes her eyes and silently chides herself. She didn’t tell him much, so there’s no way that he’d know what to do. She carefully states. “Ok, thank you.”

The chuckle on the other end of the line leaves her feeling even more tense than before. “Of course, my dear. Keep Shuu’s phone, so I can contact you quicker. I doubt he’ll even notice it’s gone anyway.”

“Uh…” Mai finds herself saying. Something just feels… wrong. Still, she manages to somehow say. “Right. I will. Thank you.”

There’s a click, and she sees light out of the corner of her eye. She doesn’t bother looking at the phone. She knows Tougo is gone. She lets the phone slide down to rest face down on the bed beside her head. She rolls onto her back again and blankly stares directly above herself while silently going over facts to see if there is something she is missing.

First is Yui is not herself, but Mai had already figured out what had happened. She flinches at the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Yui isn’t human anymore, but that is now the least of her concerns. Right now, there is someone in control of Yui’s body, and that is even worse. Mai’s arm lifts to cover her face and closes her eyes. Reiji’s idea seems… childish to her, but she can’t seem to figure out a better way around the problem. She has no idea what Cordelia is like, though she knows that she doesn’t like the woman. Not knowing her opponent makes her feel completely vulnerable. She’s tangled with Laito and look where that got her. With the frustration continuing to mount, she closes her eyes.

She barely bites back the cry of terror and pain when something touches her stomach. Her heart practically leaps out of her chest. The bed sags beside her, and she feels a soft sigh that brushes the skin of her neck. She slowly opens one eye and lifts an arm just enough to peek out. Laito’s face is dangerously close to hers without actually touching her, and his eyes are shut. The expression on his face surprises, and scares, her.

He isn’t smiling, nor is he frowning. He doesn’t look to be at peace, but he isn’t in pain. Instead, he’s simply expressionless. It’s almost like he’s too tired to keep up his own facade. Worry begins to bubble up in the pit of her stomach, but she finds her tongue uncooperative. The seconds tick into minutes, and she clenches the phone in her hand even harder. That’s when everything comes crashing back to her. She has to say or do something to see if he’s alright. Before she can second guess herself, she says. “I want to thank you.”

One green eye opens to give her a completely blank look. Chills race up and down her spine. Those eyes looks so much like Cordelia’s that she finds herself uneasy by it. She finally she manages to tear her gaze away and looks at the ceiling instead. “Is… Yui o-?”

“You stink,” Laito states bluntly. There’s not a trace of emotion in his voice, and she can feel her body tense. Pain works it’s way through her body, and she has to force herself to relax once again. She glances back at him only to find both eyes are open now, but they still hold that frighteningly, blank look.

“I… I’m sorry?” Even she isn’t sure if she asking him to repeat himself, or apologizing for smelling bad. She tries to remember the last time she showered. Surely it can’t have been more than a day or two ago.

“I believe I asked that you invite me the next time you decide to have fun with others,” Laito states in a slightly deeper voice. Mai tenses again, though her abdomen sends out shockwaves of pain.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mai barely manages to get out. He doesn’t answer. For a brief moment, she wonders what he is referring to. That’s when she realizes that she must smell like Shuu. She frowns and turns her attention back to the ceiling. She takes a moment to decide her words carefully. “If you’re referring to the scent of Shuu, I asked him to take me to Reiji, because I was hurt. You can ask Reiji himself. Afterwards, I dropped in to borrow Shuu’s phone.”

She expects him to ask her why she needs Shuu’s phone, but he doesn’t. He simply shifts for a moment. Her breath rushes out when he removes his arm from her stomach. Without warning, something cold touches her skin through the hole in her shirt. She jumps and releases an awkward squeak. Her arm lashes out to grab his wrist, and her wide eyes turn to meet his green ones. A smirk has spread itself over his face, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. She frowns at him, but he simply says. “Does it hurt?”

She won’t admit it out loud, but his icy fingers feel good against her bruised skin. His fingers dance lightly over the exposed skin, and her eyes slide closed. Unfortunately, that’s the time her mind conjures up an image. It’s the image of Laito tightly against against Yui’s body. Unintentionally, she jerks herself away and opens her eyes. She quickly sits up and scoots away from him. Thankfully the rush of adrenaline helps her work through the pain. Unfortunately, the edge of the bed comes faster than she expects, and she teeters for a moment before somehow remaining on the bed. She makes sure that her eyes never once leave the blank green ones. After a few seconds of awkward silence, she clears her throat and cautiously says. “I just… want to thank you for… helping me back there.”

“Hm.” Is the only response she gets from him. Without warning, he’s on his hands and knees, looming over her. She leans even further back, but she can’t escape without falling off the bed. His face is only inches from her own. A chill races throughout her body, and she finds that it isn’t from the fear of falling and jarring her wounds. With a hard swallow, she tries once again to say something to him.

“I’m...sorry that I lef-” Unfortunately, she’s not able to finish her sentence. His cold lips press firmly against hers, casing her lip to slide between her teeth. The last of her teetering balance fails, and she finds herself falling backwards. His arm wraps snuggly around her waist and twists her body, causing her to land half on the top of him. Her abdomen causes a searing pain to race through her body, and her teeth easily bites through her lip. Blood fills her mouth, and she tries to jerk away. A hand tightly winds itself into her hair. With fingers near the roots, she finds herself firmly kept in place. She tries to jerk away, but her reward is an arm around her waist, pulling her firmly against Laito. The pressure on her bruise brings tears to her eyes, but she can’t get good leverage to try to pull away anymore.

She stops fighting and goes limp. The second she feels his tongue prodding her lip, she seals her teeth. Unfortunately, one of Laito’s hands finds its way to her inner thigh, dangerously close to the apex of her thighs, causing her jump and release a small gasp. It’s enough for Laito to wiggle his tongue into her mouth. The wet appendage works its’ way over every inch of her mouth, causing her to involuntarily gag. Her hands find his shoulders, and she tries to pry herself away from him. Unfortunately, she’s rewarded by a sharp tug to her tender scalp. Tears fill her eyes, and panic fills her mind. She tries to breath through her nose, but it isn’t sufficient. Her lungs feel like they are on fire, so she does the first thing that comes to mind.

She bites down.

Hard.

A cool, wet feeling fills hers mouth leaving behind a disgusting metallic taste, and Laito jerks away. She uses his momentary distraction as a chance to wiggle away. She crawls back up onto the bed and quickly rolls to the other side. Despite knowing it doesn’t help to have something between them, it still makes her feel better. The shred of relief quickly dissipates at the sound of his laughter. It isn’t genuine. It sounds forced and cold. Every hair on her body stands on end when his head slowly appears over the edge of the bed. His hand lifts to run through his hair, and he leans forward. She’s sure that he’s sitting on his knees, but that’s not what strikes her as odd.

He looks painfully close to tears. A lump forms in her throat. Instead of feeling sympathy, she feels an overwhelming sense of danger. His lips curl back into a cold, almost sneer-like, smirk. The tips of his fangs are clearly visible, and the sense of danger becomes suffocating. She swallows hard and tries to calm herself. She needs to remain calm, or she’ll do something further upset him. She doesn’t bother trying to force a smile; he’ll see through it in an instant. Instead, she decides to be completely upfront with him. She clears her throat and doesn’t bother to keep any emotion out of her voice. “Laito, you’re scaring me.”

Upon hearing those words, the smirk disappears from his face. A look flashes over his face so fast that she doesn’t have a chance to register it. With a mockingly curious look, he tilts his head and playfully asks. “What do you mean?”

Her breath hitches, and she starts to slowly scoot her way toward the door, though her eyes never leave him. It feels like he’s some sort of dangerous wild animal. Just like her, his eyes never leave her, but he does nothing to stop her from escaping. It’s not until she’s almost to the door that she makes a mistake. She says softly, “Laito, you… you’re not….”

She stops talking since she’s unsure of what she’s trying to say, but she doesn’t get a chance to finish it. Laito materializes before her, and she’s never felt as small as she did right then. It feels like he’s towering over her, and a rare look of fury colors his face for a moment, but a smirk quickly replaces it. He leans down, and she finds it impossible to back away from him. His voice still retains the playfulness, but it’s does drop an octave.

“I’m not what, Sweetheart?”

She finds her tongue unable to move, and her gaze drops away from him. She fully expects him to lash out at her, but he doesn’t. In fact, he seems to be waiting patiently for her to finish her sentence. She’s not sure if that terrifies or relieves her, so she says the first thing to pop into her head. “I... I’m sorry for leaving you alone with her. I just didn’t… I couldn’t wrap my head around Yui, and you saved me from the situation. Even though that… That woman put you through so much. You, Ayato, and probably Kanato, too.”

Mai cringes, but quickly says. “It was wrong of me to leave you, and I’m very sorry. I’ve had time to… I just wanted to say that you didn’t have to help me, but you did. You’ve always been there to help me. You’re a dick, and I hate you most of the time. Still, you help me when I need it most, and I think you deserve credit for that. I’m not stupid enough to think you’re a good person, but I don’t think that you’re straight evil either.”

She’s fully prepared to keeping talking, but cold hands land on her cheeks. A sting rushes through her face, but she doesn’t get a chance to dwell on it. Her face is moved until her eyes lock with Laito’s. His face is alight with what appears to be genuine amusement again, and she finds a shred of relief at the sight. He releases a chuckle and says in a sultry voice, “You humans are so adorable. So easily manipulated. All we have to do is show you a shred of kindness, and all the bad done to you is washed away.”

She can feel her jaw drop. Irritation fills the pit of her stomach, and she reaches up to slap his hands away. To her surprise, he allows her to easily bat them away. She lifts her chin and gives him a stubborn look before spinning on her heel. To her surprise, he doesn’t do anything to stop her from stepping out of the room. The only thing he does is say, “You’ll come running to me before this is over.”

She almost continues on her way, but her pride causes her to freeze. A hard ball of anger forms in the pit of her stomach. She turns a furious gaze to meet an amused, green one. Without a single thought about consequences, she states as coldly as possibly. “Are you sure I won’t run to someone else? Someone like.. I don’t know… Shuu? Reiji? Shiro?”

She doesn’t bother waiting for a response. She simply jerks the door open, steps out, and slams the door. Fury at his words leaves her clenching his doorknob tightly for a few seconds. She takes a couple of slow breaths to calm herself before mentally running through the words she had said to him. With a flinch, she realizes that she isn’t much better than he is. Her hand slowly releases the doorknob, and she steps away. Her gaze lifts to look at the door silently. Perhaps her shrouded compliment came off as rude.

Still the thought of apologizing turned her stomach. He’s the cause of almost all of her problems, so she hadn’t been wrong in what she had said. One hand rests lightly on her abdomen. The ache is starting up once more since the adrenaline is wearing off.

A puff of cold air on the back of her neck causes her to tense, sending new waves of pain through her body. She carefully turns, only to take a cautious step back when her eyes meet frighteningly familiar green eyes. Cold amusement colors them. The woman saunters forward and wraps an arm around Mai’s shoulders. Her side presses into Mai’s, and, once again, Mai is struck by how cold Yui’s body has become. She doesn’t bother to hide the shudder from running down her spine and gives Cordelia a cold frustrated look, but Reiji’s words jump to the front of her mind, effectively killing any words from leaving her mouth.

“Hello again, my dear. I didn’t take you as someone who liked a puppy such as Laito.” She says in a sultry tone, much like her son. Her laugh echoes eerily down the hallway. It sounds completely different from Yui’s. The fury from before comes back tenfold. Mai’s fingernails dig into her palms. How could she have run from this woman before? “There are much better candidates to slake your thirst.”

Mai forces a smile to her lips. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Cordelia lets out an amused laugh and easily flicks Yui’s hair over her shoulder. Her voice is low and playful. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Cold fingers reach out to trace Mai’s jaw, and it’s all she can do to not flinch away. A thoughtful look takes over Cordelia’s face. Her voice sounds almost distracted. “You’re rather plain now that I get a good look at you, but you’re better than this thing.”

She vaguely gestures to Yui’s body. The knot of anger winds even tighter, and Mai has to release a slow breath in order to keep her cool. After a moment, she feels calm as calm as she is going to get. She scrapes her brain to think of something to say, but she comes up blank. She slowly steps away from Cordelia and starts down the hall. The sound of footsteps beside her causes her eyes to glance over. To her utter frustration, she finds Cordelia had fallen into step beside her. She playfully says. “I don’t know what you see in that boy. He’s inexperienced.”

Mai can’t help but cringe at the thought of Laito being ‘inexperienced’. What would she say about Mai’s ‘experience’? The thought makes her stomach twist painfully, so she quickly changes the subject. “Do you have any idea what you’re going to be doing from here on out?”

She glances at Cordelia and finds herself wondering if Yui’s ok. The feeling of playing nice with Cordelia makes her skin crawl, but Reiji said it might get Cordelia to lower her guard. With a flinch, Mai, once again, wonders just how much she actually should trust Reiji. Still, she doesn’t see anything in it for him to lie to her, so she figures this is probably her best shot for now.

“Hmm,” Cordelia hums softly. She lightly snaps her fingers, startling Mai. Mai quickly glances away when green instead of red meet her eyes. “Is Christa still alive?”

“Ahhh….” Mai finds herself saying. She flinches, since she isn’t sure why she said anything at all. She has to give some sort of answer now though, so she gives a small shrug of her shoulders. After clearing her throat, she says as confidently as she can. “Well… I don’t really know. I haven’t spent much time with anyone but the brothers, and, even then, I think I spend more time with Laito than any of the others.”

“Oh, you poor dear!” Cordelia coos. Her cold hands latch onto Mai’s arm, and she finds herself spun to face the somehow unfamiliar face. She has a sinking feeling that Cordelia is playing at something, but she just can’t figure out what that something is. Cordelia’s fingers lift to pull lightly at Mai’s hair, almost like she is fixing it. She says playfully. “It’s not fair that sad, pathetic boy manipulates all of your time. Love isn’t meant to be monopolized.”

Her words strike a chord deep inside Mai. She’s sure she has heard something similar coming out of Laito’s mouth. 

“He doesn’t,” Mai blurts out. She’s not sure why, but the fact that Cordelia is repeatedly insulting Laito is beginning to wear on her nerves. “I mean, I don’t mind that he tries, but I do spend time with other people. Besides, he’s kind in his own way, I guess.”

Cordelia releases a cold laugh that leaves Mai cringing. She glances at the woman beside her and frowns. Green eyes slide her way before giving her a sly look. “You don’t have to worry about my feelings. I know that all three are worthless, spoiled children.”

Her expression becomes dark, and she snarls coldly. “It’s no wonder he always favored Beatrix or Christa. My worthless offspring drug my linage through the mud.”

Something inside Mai snaps, and she stops walking. Her gaze flicks back to the blonde, who doesn’t bother looking back. Mai’s voice is low, but she says without any hesitation. “They’re not worthless. I don’t know Kanato very well, but I do know that he has an amazing voice. As scary as it may be, he’s great with creating thing. I’ve seen his dolls.”

Cordelia finally stops and releases an annoyed sounding sigh. She lifts a hand and makes a flicking gesture, as if the words were clinging to her. “That’s nothing more than child’s play.”

Mai doesn’t bother listening to her. The anger just continues to build. “Ayato’s a dick. He’s so arrogant and rude, but he does have his good qualities, too. Yui knows them much better than me, but I do know that he loves her. She loves him, too.”

“Love is overra-”

“Laito has his moments, but he does have a kind streak. He’s helped me, even if he’s the one who created the mess. All three are pushy, rude, arrogant and cold, but I was always taught that children’s behavior is a reflection of how they were raised,” Mai states coldly. She knew that some of her words were lies. There are some really terrible parents that have great kids and vice versa. Still, she can’t help the silent jab at the woman standing not far from her.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like she planned. In fact, Cordelia throws her head back and releases an amused laugh. Within moments, Cordelia is standing only inches in front of Mai. She reaches up a cold hand and rests it against Mai’s cheek, sending a jolt of cold throughout Mai’s body, but it’s nothing compared to Cordelia’s next words.

“Sweet, naive, little human. Your type are my favorites. So arrogant when you’ve never experienced the utter disappointment when your children don’t do what is expected of them. Especially when you’ve given them nothing but love and tender care their entire lives. I sincerely wish I had never been plagued with their existence.”

Mai sucks in a breath, but she finds herself unable to even think clearly. Cordelia lightly pats Mai’s cheek. The sting is dulled to almost nothing compared to the numbing shock running through her body. Cordelia’s voice is barely audible. “I’m sure that your parents feel the same way about you. I mean, you gave yourself over to the wolves willingly. Those pathetic brats will do nothing but tear you apart, and I won’t be able to help you. I can barely help this poor, defenseless girl.”

Just like that, Mai is left standing dumbfounded in the hallway. In fact, she’s sure that her mouth is even hanging open. Her body feels heavy, and her thoughts are wildly racing. She’s not sure when she spoke, but her voice seems to echo all around her.

“My parents love me.” A warm trickle works it’s way down her cheeks, burning the cut on her cheek. She lifts an arm to carefully wipe the tears away. She’s mentally tells herself to never listen to anything Cordelia says ever again. She reminds herself that Cordelia is Laito’s mother, and he’s hard to handle under the best of circumstances. With a deep shuddering breath, she says softly. “Don’t let her get to you, Mai. Don’t let her get to you. You’re supposed to slip under her defenses. Not the other way around. She is spewing nothing more than lies, just like Laito always does.”

She jumps when her pocket vibrates, and she quickly searches her pockets for the source. She pauses just before she finds her phone. Her heart leaps into her throat when she realizes she didn’t come out of Laito’s room with Shuu’s phone. In fact, she doesn’t even remember dropping it. She lets out a soft yelp when her phone begins to vibrate again. Pushing the thought aside, she locates her phone and pulls it out with shaking hands. One glance at the screen lets her know that it’s Shiro… again.

With a sigh, she answers and lifts it to her ear. “Listen, Shiro. I’m a li-”

“I have to talk to you!” He practically yells in her ear. She jerks the phone away and glowers at it for a moment before moving it back just in time to hear him say. “Sound good to you? Can you meet me there now?”

“What?” Mai asks. Her fingers lift to pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration. She still doesn’t have time to deal with Shiro. She needs to put all her energy into figuring out how to get around Cordelia’s defenses.

He releases a frustrated growl and quickly says. “Can you meet me outside the public library? I have something really important to show you!”

He sounds so frantic that guilt starts to build in her chest. She releases a soft sigh. Perhaps it’ll be helpful to get away from the house for a bit. She can use the time to clear her head. She’s hasn’t had enough time to adjust to the fact that Yui might be gone and a bitch might be in her place. With another sigh, she says. “Fine, fine. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

He releases an almost choked laugh. “Thank god!”

Suspicion fills her chest, and she softly asks. “Is everything alright Shiro?”

“No.” She’s startled by how blunt he says that.

“What’s w-” She starts to say, but he quickly cuts her off.

“I’ll explain everything when you get here. Please hurry!”

She doesn’t get a chance to say anything else. The phone lights up, and she releases a groan of frustration. Why did everyone seem to hang up on her? She pulls the phone away to look down at it with a frown. Another problem has risen. With yet another sigh, she shoves the phone into her pocket and readjusts her direction. She hates to do this, but she doesn’t relish the thought of walking all the way back to town again. Worst case scenario, Reiji’ll just deny her the car.

She flinches at the thought, but she quickly pushes it away. Shiro is behaving strangely, and she won’t be able to fully focus on her task at hand if some corner of her mind is worrying about him. 

She’s vaguely aware that it’s a little easier to move, though it still causes a good deal of pain. It seems like no time at all passes before she finds herself standing before Reiji’s room. With a deep breath to calm her nerves, she raises a hand to knock softly on the door.

To her surprise, he calls for her to enter. Her heart skips a beat, and she quickly tries to crush the nervousness. She silently reprimands herself. All she’s asking for is a ride to the library. She isn’t asking for his first born child, though she doesn’t think he will ever have a first born child.

She can’t help the smirk from spreading over her face. Thankfully, it helps to ease some tension, and she is able to confidently open the door.

Reiji’s back is to her, and he seems to be reading something. She clears her throat after a few minutes of silence, but it doesn’t seem to gain his attention. After a few more minutes of silence, she decides to just ask. “Can I borrow a ride to the public library?”

To her utter frustration, she doesn’t receive an answer, even though minutes have gone by since she asked him. She barely manages to bite back some harsh words. It looks like she’s walking to town. She turns to leave without another word.

“Don’t let her egg you on.” Reiji’s cold voice grabs her attention. She glances back to stare at him. A shudder runs down her spine, and she considers asking how he knew about her conversation with Cordelia, but she decides she doesn’t want to know. “She’s a pathetic woman who is grasping at the coattails of a great man that’ll never stoop to her level.”

Mai finds herself at a loss for words. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to need a response from her. His hand lifts into her view, and he gives a casual flick. It feels like a spell has been lifted with a simple gesture. She wastes no time in leaving the room as quickly as her wounds will allow. She feels goosebumps forming over her skin, and she quickly makes her way toward the door.

Perhaps it’s a good thing that Shiro is calling her away. She needs time away to fully comprehend what is happening to and around her. The door opens with a single touch, but she doesn’t dwell on it. What surprises her is the car at the bottom of the stairs. The driver bows the second her eyes land on him. Somehow, he manages to flawlessly open the car door without straightening from his bow.

With a couple of short, shallow, painfilled breaths, she quickly dives into the car, completely disregarding her aching wounds. She glances out, fully expecting someone to shove their way into the car with her, but no one does. The door shuts, and the familiar walks around the car before getting in the driver seat.

The car easily starts and smoothly pulls away from the house. Despite getting further away from all of the problems, Mai begins to feel even more tense than before. She finds herself wondering if she made a mistake in leaving. Maybe something terrible will happen to Yui while she’s gone. 

With a deep breath, she forces all the thoughts from her mind and lets her aching body sink back into the comfortable leather seat. She focuses on her breathing and what she plans to say to Shiro when they meet up.

She can’t decide if she’ll tell him everything or anything at all. The last thing she needs is him thinking she is crazy. She might end up back in the psych ward, and that’ll waste what precious time she has left. Her eyes turn to the window, and she mindlessly watches the scenery pass by. Finally, she decides that she’ll start off the conversation by saying that something happened to Yui. She snapped to some degree, so Mai doesn’t have much time to help Shiro with whatever problem he has. She needs to return and figure out the best way to help Yui.

She gives a small nod of her head. That’s what she’ll tell him. It isn’t a lie, but it isn’t exactly truthful. She’s sure that Shiro’ll understand. He always understands, even when she told him some outlandish stuff.

With a deep breath, she finds her muscles relaxing for the first time in what feels like forever. Her mind shifts from troubling thoughts to the scenery outside the window. She might as well calm down while she has the chance. After all, it’ll seem like no time has passed when she finally faces Shiro. She lets her eyes close, and she lets the feel of the car lull her into a relaxed state.

All her pain and worries begin to melt away.

Unfortunately, it’s just as short lived as she thought it’d be. The car slows to a stop. She glances out the window to find Shiro standing near the library doors with a stern look on his face. Mai carefully scoots toward the door and reaches out to open it. Her hand never reaches its’ destination, since the door swings open by itself. Startled, she glances through the window to see that the familiar was bowing once more.

“Mai!” Shiro calls, drawing her attention.

It looks like it’s time to face her friend.


	28. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! It's been a while! Sorry, I got so busy over this summer! I hope you all had a good one! :D I haven't given up on the story! Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy!

She cautiously climbs out of the car. Her attention shifts from the familiar, who remains beside the door, to her friend, who is walking down the steps toward her. His face had seemed stern before, but it now has become frighteningly cold. It takes her a moment to realize why. Embarrassment begins to gnaw at her stomach. For some reason, it hadn’t occurred to her to change her torn clothes before coming, so she’s unwittingly revealing quite a bit of awkward skin. Her arms unconsciously wrap around her abdomen, and her eyes fixate themselves on the ground. Why didn’t she take a shower? At the very least, she should have gotten some appropriate, non-bloody clothes. She closes her eyes and releases a soft sigh to try to steady her nerves. Unfortunately, it does little to help, so she clears her throat and says as loudly as she dares. “Ah, sorry about my clothes. I was…”

She’s unexpectedly cut off by a rough snarl. “Who did that to you?”

Her eyes snap up, and she’s startled at how close Shiro suddenly is. She didn’t think that she had been looking down for that long.She takes a step back, and her heart skips a beat. Shiro lifts his hand, as if he plans to reach out and touch her. A blur of black appears out of the corner of her eye, and Shiro is lost behind the familiar, who had placed himself firmly between Shiro and Mai. Her eyes stare at the back of his head. The familiar’s voice is a low growl that it’s barely audible. “Do not touch the masters’ guest.”

The voice is so icy and emotionless that Mai can almost literally feel her skin crawling. She unconsciously steps back until the hard metal of the car presses against her body. and she still presses even harder against it. Shiro’s voice is equally as cold as the familiars. “No one is interested in you, demon. Get out of the way.”

A strange noise leaves the familiar. It’s best described as a gurgling, dog-like growl. Every hair stands on end, and she quickly steps around him. Despite not wanting to, she forces herself to reach out and place a hand on his arm. “It’s ok. He’s….my….”

Something catches her eye, drawing her attention away from what she was going to say. Her eyes meet Shiro’s. A guilty look quickly takes over the angry one, and her gaze slowly drops to find something that makes her blood turn to ice. A long silver knife rests in Shiro’s right hand, only inches from his knee. His knuckles are white from gripping the handle so hard. She forces her gaze to slowly lift until she meets Shiro’s guilty one once more. He quickly shifts the knife out of sight, but it does little to help sooth her now frazzled nerves. His deep voice is oddly gentle. “Mai, I can explain.”

She gives a shake of her head and steps back behind the familiar. Her body starts to shake, and her mouth goes dry. She never thought she’d be grateful to have something inhuman to hide behind. There is so much that she wants to ask Shiro such as: what is he doing with a weapon? Isn’t this supposed to be a friendly meeting?

A sudden, sickening thought occurs to her. Did the familiar sense the incoming attack before she could? Shiro hadn’t planned on attacking her from the start, had he? Was that his plan all along? Her mouth becomes painfully dry, and she can barely hear over the sound of her racing heart. She leans closer to the familiar in front of her. She can feel an unnatural chill, even through his clothes, but she doesn’t let that stop her from pressing her forehead into his back. Her breath hitches in her throat, and she is suddenly fighting tears. What’s wrong with her? Why can’t she have normal friends? Why did she have to attract only the most dangerous of the outcasts?

In an effort to steady her racing thoughts, she clears her throat. She should ask him directly instead of just assuming things, but she doesn’t get a chance to ask anything. Shiro’s voice drifts to her from the other side of her human-like shield. “Listen, Mai. You’re in a lot of danger. You need to come with me right now. Please, Mai. You have to trust me.”

She closes her eyes for only a moment before opening them again. It isn’t wise to not see the attack coming, even if she didn’t want to see it at all. She lifts her head to focus her gaze on the familiar’s back, but it does little to help settle her nerves. She pulls her hands close to her chest and begins to wring them to try to stop their trembling. She stubbornly tells herself that Shiro has never done anything to harm her before, so why would he start now? To be honest, he never gave any sort of indication that he wanted. She flinches as a disturbing thought floats to the surface. Just because he has never harmed her in the past doesn’t really mean anything. It’s always the least expected, and often times most loved, who turn out to be the killers after all. She releases a shallow breath, gathers what little, tired courage is left, and sternly says. “I’m not going anywhere with you. I need to help Yui. Besides, and you can’t blame me for this, I don’t think it’s wise to go alone with someone who’s carrying a knife.”

Shiro lets out a dry chuckle before there is shuffling. The familiar steps to the side, and she can hear a snarl from Shiro. She can only assume that Shiro had tried to unsuccessfully slip around him. Her mind refocuses on the problem at hand. She has so many questions to ask her ‘friend’, but she isn’t quite sure where to start. Thankfully, she doesn’t have to. Shiro starts talking on his own. “I just want you to know that I never thought you were crazy. I believe in vampires, too.”

“Then you’re the crazy one,” Mai states. She tried to make it sound playful, but it comes out dull and flat. It sounds like she’s making a statement instead of a joke. Shiro simply continues as if she hadn’t spoken in the first place.

“I believed everything you told me, and I want to help you. I have something that I need to tell you, and I want to be the one to say it. I don’t want that…. That…” His voice trails off for a moment. Mai presses her hands even tighter against her chest and barely manages to gather the courage to try to peek around the familiar. The urge quickly dies the moment she remembers the knife. She feels a shudder run down her spine, and she curls in on herself a little. His voice draws her attention back to the familiar’s back. “It doesn’t matter. I just need to tell you. Listen, I was sent to help Yui, but it appears that I’m already too late to do anything. We’re always too late to help the brides, but you weren’t supposed to be tangled up in this mess. You ar-”

“Wait,” Mai says. There are a couple of things that she’s confused about. First of all, she doesn’t understand what he means by ‘we’. Second, does that mean that the ‘bride’ subject is known past the Sakamaki family and those who are associated with them? Her body begins to feel heavy and cold. If he knew about the brides, her answer had been there all along. The more she thinks about it, the more her head spins. She lifts a hand to press against her forehead. He had been there before this whole mess had started. He could have saved Yui. Frustration starts to fill her body. He knew what was happening, yet he didn’t do anything at all to help her. She closes her eyes tightly and releases a slow breath to steady her mounting anger. She needed to get some questions answered first. It only takes her a moment to decide on a good starter question, though it’s harder to get out than she expects it to be. “What do…. What do you mean…… by ‘we’?”

Everything suddenly becomes deadly silent, save for Mai’s loud shaky breaths. Her eyes drop to the ground between her feet, and she mentally urges Shiro to answer. It feels like hours are ticking past, but she doubts that much time has really gone by. Finally, Shiro sighs and softly says, “It’ll be easier if I just show you. Will you come with me?”

A sharp bark of laughter escapes her, causing her to flinch. The sound came out warped. It sounded like a mixture of laughter and sobbing, though she isn’t sure why she feels like laughing and crying at the same time. She clears her throat and states as sternly as she can. “I’m not going anywhere with you, Shiro. Yui is…”

“Fuck Yui, Mai! She’s already gone!” Shiro practically yells, desperation coloring his voice. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see the familiar shift. For a brief moment, she wonders if Reiji had asked it to watch out for her. The moment she finishes that thought, she finds herself seriously doubted it. With a shake of her head, her attention is brought back to the conversation at hand. She hates to admit it, but Shiro hitting very close to the truth when it comes to Yui. She starts to feel sick to her stomach once again. There’s no way she can just leave a friend to the mercy of that woman.

With a jolt, she realizes that it’s not just one friend she is thinking of. Everyone’s faces begin to race through her mind. Even though she hasn’t talked to her much, Mai finds that she doesn’t like Cordelia, and, now, she’s free to wreak havoc. It affects more than just Yui. It affects Laito, Ayato, and Kanato as well. It may even go as far as to affect Shuu and the others as well. She glances over her shoulder at the car and wonders what she can possibly do to even help. She’s nothing more than a silly, powerless, little human, and it seems like everything she’s ever done to help has painfully backfired in her face.

Still, she doesn’t feel right abandoning someone who needs her help, no matter how insignificant that help may be. It might actually be the kickstart Yui needs to fight Cordelia’s control. The thought causes a small flicker of hope to light amongst the dark, cold feeling of helplessness.

“They’ll take you away from your parents! They’ll take you away from the human world, Mai! They’ll toy with you until they are bored, then they’ll kill you in the most painful way they can imagine! Just look at what they’ve done to Yui!” Shiro’s voice cuts through her thoughts like a knife.

Mai feels her hands slowly ball into fists. Why does it feel like she’s the only one left in the dark? She’s the only one that is not being told the whole story! She knows she told Shiro a lot, despite much of it being scared ramblings. Something no one should ever believe. She should have been suspicious when he didn’t turn her in or laugh at her. Her voice comes out shaky. “How… Why did you believe me?”

The following silences serves to make her even more desperate for answers. She just wants one person to not hide anything from her. “Shiro, answer me.”

Her voice is low. She puts as much strength into it as she possibly can. Once again, she’s not answered. She thought she’d feel angry, or upset, that he isn’t even bothering to tell her anything. Unfortunately, all she feels is numb. He’s hiding some big secret. The feeling deep in the pit of her stomach tells her so.

“Shiro!” She finally snaps. The familiar shifts in response to her voice, and that serves to irritate her even further. She releases a sharp sigh and steps around the familiar. A movement that she regrets instantly. The familiar didn’t move in response to her voice. He was responding to Shiro himself. There is a sickening crunching noise, followed by an ear piercing shrieking. Her eyes widen when she takes in the scene before her. The knife Shiro’s carrying is plunged all the way to the handle in the chest of the familiar, who begins to melt away into a black pool. A sickening hiss, much like a cat’s, leaves the puddle once the familiar is done melting. Mai takes a couple of steps back, and her heart leaps into her throat. A look of triumph covers Shiro’s face while he stares down at the puddle. How could Shiro do something like that so easily? How could he look so pleased with himself? She tries to swallow, but her saliva seems to have turned to a thick paste in her mouth. Is he not human either? That’d explain why he seemed to believe her so easily.

The overwhelming sense to flee takes over her. There is no way she can fight Shiro, human or otherwise. He’s much larger and stronger than her. Without a second thought, she bolts around the car. She hears a desperate call of her name, but she doesn’t look back. She’s too afraid it would slow her down. Instead, she pushes as much energy as she can into her legs. She’s vaguely aware of the sensation of the bruises hurting, but she doesn’t give herself time to think about it. Adrenaline courses through her veins, fueled by her need to run from the danger.

She’s not sure where she is running; she knows that she has to get away. It’s not long before she hears the sound of heavy footsteps behind her. Panic fills her mind. She really needs to learn to pick better friends. Preferably ones that won’t kill or maim her. She takes a sharp right around a corner, almost losing her balance. Somehow, she manages to stay upright. Her heart skips several beats at the sound of his footsteps getting even closer. She tries to surge what strength she has left into her legs, but she can only do so much on adrenaline. Tears fill her eyes when hopelessness threatens to take over. Her legs begin to feel heavy, and her lungs start to burn with the need to let out a sob.

“Stop!” Shiro’s voice echoes throughout the street.

“Go to hell!” Mai responds before trying yet another sharp turn. This time, she feels a small tug on the back of her shirt. She is jerked to the side, and one of her feet slips out from under her body. She’s pitched to the side, and she reaches out an arm to break her fall. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get her palm out fast enough. She hears a sickening rip, and pain courses through her knee, forearm and elbow. She tries to ignore it though. She can hear his feet scraping as he tries to stop. She shoves herself onto her feet with a hiss and bolts once again.

“Please, Mai! Listen to me!” Shiro’s voice calls out behind her. She can hear his footsteps chasing her once again. Her lungs are burning, and her leg hurts to put weight on it. She lets out a wheeze and tries to tell him where to go. It comes out awkward and unintelligible.

She’s too tired to even feel frustrated. It is all she can do to keep her current pace. That’s when her eyes lock with something vaguely familiar. It’s been such a long time since she’d stepped foot in it. She knows that she won’t be able to hide, but there is plenty of things to put between herself and Shiro. It’ll give her a chance to catch her breath. She silently prays that the doors aren’t locked. That’d be her luck.

Thankfully, luck seems to be on her side. She hits them full speed, and they easily swing inward for her. She almost stumbles on the rug, but she manages to keep her balance. She races up the aisle toward the podium. Once she’s at the front, she takes yet another sharp turn. Thankfully, the carpet helps her keep her balance a little better. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Shiro barrelling past her with an outstretched hand. He had been so close to capturing her that her heart completely stops, and her breath hitches for a moment. Thankfully, he misses her and crashes headlong into the small stage. He lets out a curse when he lands in an awkward heap with a loud thump, effectively bringing the podium down with him. She uses this chance to hurry a few rows down and slide into one of the pews. She spins to face him. Her breath starts to come out in ragged pants. Sweat clings to her skin, making her acutely aware of where her skin is broken. A sharp sting is racing from her arm, knee, and abdomen, but she does the best she can to ignore it. Her eyes locate Shiro and remain locked on him. He is thrashing wildly while trying to dislodge the pieces of the podium. It would’ve been almost comical if she was not in her current situation. Finally, he manages to free himself and rolls to his feet. His breath isn’t as ragged as hers, but he’s still panting. A light sheen of sweat covers his forehead, causing his hair to stick to his skin. His eyes find hers. Neither say anything, nor do they move aside from gasping for breath. It feels like hours pass by, and Mai isn’t any closer to capturing her breath. If anything, it’s making her body ache to remain stationary. She reaches out and grabs the back of the pew in front of her and uses it to shift some weight off her sore knee. She doesn’t dare look down to see the extent of the damage. Finally, Shiro breaks the silence by letting out a snort. “God, you’re quick on your feet.”

Mai grits her teeth, but she doesn’t say anything. She can still see the familiar melting in front of her. She doesn’t see the knife anywhere, and that frightens her even more. Shiro releases a sigh after a few minutes of silence passes. It appears that his breath is returning a lot faster than hers. He slowly stretches then focuses back on her with a serious look. His eyes seem to drink in the blood slowly sliding down her arm. She’s faintly aware of it, but she honestly hadn’t given it much thought other than the ever growing pain in her arm. His voice is gentle when he says, “I’m sorry about earlier. I thought I had a better hold on your shirt. I forgot it was ripped. You took quite the fall. Are you ok?”

She isn’t sure if she should feel relieved or disgusted at his concern. What’s wrong with him? He just killed someone, and he isn’t even fazed. She grits her teeth. The familiar might not have been human, but that noise he released meant that he was at least alive. She asks before she can stop herself. “Did you have to kill him?”

Shiro tilts his head for a moment. A questioning look overtakes his face. Seconds later, a look of realization replaces the confusion. His look quickly hardens, and he sternly says. “That wasn’t a person, Mai.”

Taken aback, she finds herself only able to stare at him silently. She tenses when he shifts a leg. He gives her a frustrated look in response before sighing. His eyes remain locked with hers while he eases himself down among what is left of the podium. With one leg bent slightly, he slings an arm over his knee and leans back onto his other one. The other leg is outstretched in front of him. He gives her a serious look. “It seems like we need to have a serious talk.”

“No shit, Sherlock.” Mai snaps. He gives her a stern stare before continuing as if she hadn’t said anything.

“Now, I need you to listen to me until the end. Understand? Don’t interrupt.” He pauses, which she assumes is where she is supposed to agree. She stubbornly lifts her chin and gives him a cold look. After a brief staring contest, he finally gives in and rolls his eyes. He shifts again, causing Mai to flinch. Once more, he gives her a frustrated look before plunging into his story. “I’m not going to bore you with the details. I’m just going to tell you I had a fairly normal childhood, aside from the fact that my parents were fairly religious, much like Yui’s father. I grew up knowing that there are things that lurk in the dark, which is fine. I was taught that they only bother humans from time to time. The church that Yui and I belong to was formed to help protect humanity should one of those monsters overstep their boundaries.”

“Wait,” Mai says. Unfortunately, Shiro isn’t interested in what she has to say or ask. He just continues on even louder.

“It’s because we found a method to kill them that a pact was formed. We’ll overlook missing people, as long as they don’t exceed a certain number. To uphold our part of the deal, we give them a chance to police their own criminals. We also offer a sacrifice of sorts to the king of the demon world whenever he requests it, but it can only happen once every few years.”

Mai’s blood runs cold. Her body feels oddly numb. Unfortunately, Shiro keeps going. “We don’t intend for them to die. We try to retrieve them several months later, but we’re always too late. They only want females, and we were never told why. We chose not to inform the people we sent to them. We figured it would be easier to face the upcoming battles without knowing the outcome.”

Shiro lets out a soft sigh. A look of regret passes over his face, and his eyes drop. Repulsion runs through Mai’s body. They had knowingly sent people to their deaths? Had Shiro? Bile starts to claw its’ way up her throat. She feels like she’s going to be sick. Now, she has even more questions to ask, but she finds that she doesn’t have the nerve to do so. She doesn’t want to know anything else. Unfortunately, Shiro isn’t done. His voice lowers a little. “Her father didn’t know. He thought that she’d be safe while he was gone. He’s beside himself now. He wants to see her, but I told him no. He can’t go to her right now. He’ll… he’ll kill her and everyone around her, including you.”

Mai’s stomach twists, and she gives a violent shake of her head. This isn’t making sense to her. She can’t wrap her head around it. She leans even more heavily on the pew. The adrenaline has worn off, and she’s having an even harder time standing.

A gentle look spreads over Shiro’s face. He says softly. “You can sit down, you know. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Mai’s eyes narrow. Her legs start to tremble, but she stubbornly says. “I’m sure plenty of victims have heard that line before.”

He lets out a chuckle and gives a shake of his head. “I don’t kill people.”

“You killed the driver,” Mai argues.

The laughter disappears from his face. The cold look from before reappears, and he sternly says. “Mai, it was not a person. It was a thing.”

Mai tries to bite back a retort, but she is unable to. “He wasn’t human. That’s the only difference. If you go by that logic, then it’s fine for Laito and the others to kill humans.”

His eyes narrow. “That is different, and you know it.”

“Why? Because we’re human? They might think of us as animals. Did you ever think of that?” Mai argues.

Shiro’s fist lands hard beside him, causing a loud noise to echo eerily around them. Mai flinches back. Her knees hit the pew, and she finds herself landing hard on the uncomfortable wood. She lets out a hiss. Shiro’s cold tone causes every muscle in her body to tense up. “God damn it, Mai! Use your head for once! Why are you protecting them?!”

She finds herself unable to explain why. She doesn’t even try. Unfortunately, that seems to be just what Shiro is hoping for. He leans forward, pulling both legs beneath him, and growls softly. “You don’t have an answer to that, do you? Do you know why you don’t? It’s because you’re smart enough to see the flaw in your own argument. The only reason you stayed is because you had some delusion that you could help Yui, but you can’t. She’s beyond help. She’s a vampire now, and you know it. There is not a thing you or anyone can do now. There never has been a way for you to help. You just tangled yourself up with those blood suckers so much that you no longer know which way is up or down. Listen, Mai. I was too late to save Yui, but I’m going to make up for that by saving the only person who kept her human for this long. I know that’s what she’d want, and you know it, too. It’s time to throw in the towel on this one and run for your life.”

Frustration builds in the pit of her stomach. She hates that some part of her agrees with Shiro, while another other part stubbornly holds onto the belief she can still help Yui. She firmly tells herself that she has to get back or Yui’ll be gone forever. That thought makes her blood run cold once more. Ayato and Laito’s faces surface, and she finds herself frowning at Shiro. She now has her answers, but it did little to help her with her situation. If anything, it makes it even more clouded on what is right and wrong. She softly clears her throat and sternly says. “They aren’t the best, but they’re my friends. I can’t leave them as they are now. There’s something seriously wrong going on here, and I can’t just run away from it.”

Shiro curses softly before he closes his eyes. He presses a hand over his face and lets out a loud groan. “You’re so stubborn.”

He slowly slides his hand off. A thoughtful expression spreads over his face. His eyes raise to meet hers, and it almost appears that a light bulb turns on over his head. He slowly climbs to his feet, and Mai quickly scrambles to hers. Her knee protests, but she still doesn’t bother looking down. Instead, she keeps her gaze locked with Shiro’s. Much to her displeasure, he gives her a playful grin and asks. “Ready for a real stumper?”

Uncertainty fills her body, but she doesn’t get a chance to respond. He simply shrugs his shoulders and says as if it’s a joke. “I’m a hunter.”

He chuckles, but she doesn’t quite understand the joke. Apparently, the lack of response isn’t what he is expecting, since his laughter starts to die away. She simply stares at him silently. She’s heard the word before, and she assumes he isn’t referring to hunting animals. 

He shuffles his weight back and forth, causing her eyes to narrow. She could’ve sworn that he scooted toward her just now, but she can’t be sure. Every hair stands on end, and her breath hitches when he reaches into a side pocket on his cargo pants. She quickly side steps until she is near the aisle. Shiro hesitates for a moment; a look of uncertainty passes over his face. It feels like time both speeds up and slows down at the same time. Finally, he decides and rips his hand out of his pocket, revealing the silver knife from before, only it’s neatly folded to easily hide in his pocket. Her breath rushes out like a punch to the stomach. To keep herself from collapsing , she reaches out to grab the back of the pew once more. Her eyes nervously flick between him and the knife. His few shuffled steps don’t go unnoticed this time. She matches with a few steps side steps of her own. She’s only a step or two from the aisle now. It’d be a straight shot to the door, but she isn’t sure her muscles can take it yet. That’s nothing to stay about the knee that still doesn’t want to bear much weight.

Too much has happened in such a short amount of time. She fights back a choked sob. A look of unease settles over Shiro’s handsome face. His voice holds a hint of desperation when he pleadingly says, “Please don’t cry, Mai. Let me help you. I can rescue you. I really can. My group will hide you away. They will protect you.”

“Is this the same group that gives girls like Yui up to a horrible death?” She couldn’t help herself. The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. She flinches when his face smooths over into a look of indifference. Silence fills the air between them once more. Mai tells herself that she doesn’t feel guilty for her words. 

She tenses every tired muscle in her body when he doesn’t even try to hide the rather large step that leaves him at the first pew. Unfortunately, he’s headed for the center aisle, much like Mai is. Why hadn’t she noticed that before? She quickly takes a couple awkward side steps further into her row. This was a bad idea. She is trapped like a rat. She should’ve just kept running. 

He slowly lifts up the knife, causing Mai to flinch. He clearly forces an apologetic smile onto his face. His free hand slowly reaches out toward her. Mai’s eyes flick between his face, the knife, and the outstretched hand before starting all over again. His voice drops to almost a whisper, but it still echoes eerily through the empty church. “I know you’re scared. I was too. I promise you won’t get hurt. I know you want to rescue Yui, but we both know it’s too late for her. She’s already one of them. If you don’t get out now, you might become one of them, too. You wouldn’t like. You’d never get to be with your family again. Life would ch-”

“I… I…” Mai whispers, effectively silencing Shiro. Her eyes lock onto his hopeful face. This is the chance she’s been fighting for since the beginning. Why is she hesitating now? Her vision slowly starts to blur again. She knows the reason, but she doesn’t want to say it. She slowly starts to shake her head. “I appreciate it, but I…”

“You can’t abandon Yui, can you?” Shiro states. To Mai’s surprise, it isn’t as cold as she’s expecting. In fact, she can almost detect a hint of admiration in his voice. Still, that statement isn’t quite right. It isn’t just Yui now, but she won’t admit it out loud. In fact, she inwardly cringes at the thought of even admitting it silently.

She can’t just abandon Ayato to the torture of having to watch his loved one wither away into someone else. Even if he is an asshole most of the time.

She can’t abandon Kanato either. She doesn’t get along with him, and she gets a tinge of fear whenever he’s around, but that isn’t enough of a reason for her to leave him to that monster.

She doesn’t even want to consider her feelings for Laito, but she has a cold, nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that she’ll have a hard time abandoning him, despite everything he’s done to her. She unconsciously wraps her arms around her upper abdomen, presses her thighs tightly together, and hunkers down a little.

It might not affect them as much, but she still can’t leave Reiji, Subaru, or even Shuu to the fate of having to deal with that monster for who knew how long. The faces of all the women Kanato turned into dolls flash through her mind. A cold sense of terror settles in her stomach. She finds it harder and harder to come up with excuses to remain. Her eyes lock with Shiro’s hand once more. Just a few steps, and she can rejoin a much warmer realm. The sun will warm her skin once more. She’ll become a normal teenager again.

In the deep recesses of her mind, she knows she’ll never be normal again. She now knows there are things stalking the night. Now, she truly has a reason to fear the dark. She swallows hard and shifts her gaze back to Shiro’s face. Her resolve slowly begins to crumble. What can one human possibly hope to do against seven vampires? Frustration at her own indecision fills her body. Why can’t she choose what side she wants to be on?

A gentle voice interrupts her thoughts. “I know you’re scared, Mai. I know how scary this seems, but you’ve lived through so much worse. I can’t even promise this’ll be the hardest part. If you come with me, you’ll be happy. You’ll need to see someone about your attachment to such a destructive relationship, but it’ll the first step toward healing. I promise you’ll be ok. You and your parents will be ok. You can be as close to a teenager as you possibly can get. You’ll have friends that you can discuss boys, makeup, or whatever you choose. Your biggest worry will be the next test, or maybe even curfew. You’ll live where you belong. You’ll be with your own species. I promise to not let anyone force you into learning how to fight and kill them. I promise. Can you trust me?”

It feels like the last pillar of her resolve is close to crumbling. She knows that she needs to get out of her current situation. There’s no doubt that being around Laito isn’t healthy. Other faces slowly start to surface. She can see Yui’s smiling face, and Subaru’s snarl. She can see Ayato’s face after a prank he just pulled on Kanato. She can even see Reiji’s frowning face when he disapproves of something going on around him. The last one to pop up is Shuu. She can see his tired, one eyed gaze. None of them were healthy to be around. They were demanding and dangerous. She releases a heavy sigh and shakes her head to try to clear those thoughts. They only muddle her thoughts even more. 

She’s not sure when she had looked down, but she now realizes that she’s been staring at the floor between her feet for some time. She quickly glances up. Relief feels her body when she finds Shiro hadn’t tried to approach her. In fact, it appears as if he has backed up a couple of steps. A hopeful look passes over his face when their eyes meet. She finds it hard to trust him, but the thought of being normal is almost too tempting to pass up. Besides, what could he do that the Sakamaki’s haven’t already done, or might do in the near future? How long has it been since she spent time with normal humans? She flinches at the thought. She doesn’t even remember the last time she talked to a normal person.

A bitter taste fills her mouth. She can’t call Shiro normal. In fact, she realizes that she knows next to nothing about the boy standing not far from her. He hasn’t lied to her, but she still feels that he isn’t being completely truthful either. She quickly shakes the thought from her mind. It’s best to not even think about that right now. She takes a moment to try to convince herself to just accept his offer when darkness covers her vision while something cold snakes around her waist. A horrifyingly familiar scent rushes through her nasal passages when she sucks in a sharp, startled gasp. Something soft is covering the upper portion of her face. Without warning, her head is craned back into something hard and cold. She can only assume it’s a shoulder or possibly a collar bone just under the base of her skull. Her head is tilted awkwardly to the side, exposing part of her neck. A cold body presses against her back, almost shaping to her form. Her heart stutters to a stop. This all happened in the span of a few seconds.

With her sight gone, every other sense seems so much sharper. She can feel his hair tickling the side of her exposed neck. His chin comes to lightly rest on her shoulder, much too close to her neck for comfort. Full panic starts to set in, and she immediately reaches up to pull at whatever is blocking her vision. Her fingers meet the soft edge of his fedora and wraps around it. She pulls hard, but he seems intent on keeping it right where it is. The hat presses even tighter against her face. Her breath hitches, and the feeling of being suffocated starts to take over. She immediately drops her weight and starts to thrash. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the desired effect. All it does is cause pain when her feet blindly strike the pews in front of her. Much to her frustration, Latio easily keeps her held up using only one arm. Her body becomes rigid when his lips ghost over the skin of her jugular.

It’s a silent warning. She’s hates herself for doing it, but she immediately obeys. Now that she isn’t flailing, she can almost feel the tension in his body. She’s not sure why, but there is a sharp racing up her side. She didn’t think she hit that area when she fell. Finally, it dawns on her. It’s around her waist, exactly where his hand’s resting. She closes her eyes tightly and barely represses the soft whimper from springing forth. She tries to focus on her breathing, but she’s distracted by a soft noise of irritation coming from directly in front of her. Shiro’s now cold voice echoes louder than before. “Release her, leech.”

Mai’s heart drops to the pit of her stomach, and she silently urges Shiro to be quiet. She can feel Laito’s body tense even more against her own. After a moment, his cold breath brushes over her skin in the form of a chuckle. It isn’t his usual seductive one though. This one sends a cold feeling into every cell in her body. It’s painfully clear that he isn’t amused by Shiro. The more she considers it, the more she realizes that it’s nothing more than an empty, hollow sound. Goosebumps form all over her body. She can feel her hair stand on end. There’s something very, very wrong with Laito.

She will go so far as to say that there is something dangerous about him right now. Overwhelming fear wells up, but it’s not for her wellbeing. It’s for the wellbeing of her friend. She barely catches the soft click from somewhere directly in front of her. Shiro’s voice drops even lower before. In a frighteningly cold voice, Shiro states. “I will not ask you again. She doesn’t belong with you and your disgusting kind.”

Laito responds with a soft scoff. It’s silent for a few minutes. Finally, it’s broken by a soft, almost animalistic growl from Shiro. She flinches when he practically yells. “You bastards have already claimed enough human life! The church has always turned a blind eye to it, but you have overstepped your bounds this time! Mai has nothing to do with our organization! She is nothing more than a simple human being, and you have dared to spread your disease amongst the innocent! I will not allow this to continue to happen!”

Without warning, the fedora is removed from her face. She blinks rapidly for a moment. While doing so, she finds that Laito has loosened his grip enough that she can move. She lifts her head from his shoulder in order to look at her friend. Shiro has gotten closer than she would’ve liked. The bitter taste of panic fills her mouth. There is something very, very wrong about this situation. Something bad is about to happen. She can feel it deep inside her bones. 

Laito pulls away from her a little more. She wants to chance a look over her shoulder, but she can’t find the nerve to do so. Instead, she remains locked onto Shiro’s face. He’s wearing a fierce, yet cold look on his face. She grits her teeth tightly. She needs to do something to protect him, and she needs to do it soon.

“I’ve never infected an innocent life before,” Laito playfully states, but she can almost hear a cold undertone to it. He releases his seductive chuckle, so she chances a glances over her shoulder at him. He’s wearing his usual smirk, and he seems to have relaxed. Still, his eyes don’t hold their usual playfulness. In fact, they look almost emotionless, and that scares her more than Shiro’s knife. For a brief moment, his eyes drop to meet hers. An emotion flicks by so fast that she almost doesn’t catch it.

It almost looks like loneliness, but she doesn’t think that’s quite right. She quickly turns her attention back to Shiro. There’s a more pressing problem than Laito’s feelings. Said problem is still slowly advancing toward his possible doom. Her breath hitches in her throat. She wants to call out and tell Shiro to run. She wants to tell him that he’s in an incredible amount of danger, but she can’t seem to find her voice.

To her absolute horror, she sees Shiro’s mouth moving, but she can’t hear what he’s saying over the pounding in her chest. She finds herself unconsciously clenching the sleeve of the now loose arm around her waist. She can feel Laito’s chest rumble behind her, but she can’t hear any sound. But this one isn’t due to the fact that her heart’s racing. This is due to the ear piercing screaming that seems to be assaulting her from every direction. Without warning, the overwhelming scent of decay begins to fill her nose, easily overpowering Laito’s much more pleasant smell.

“Danger!”

“Death!”

“Kill!”

“Die!”

Those are only four of the words being chanted, but she can’t figure out what the rest of them are saying. Her head starts to spin, and it feels like her breath is hitching in her chest. It feels like someone is trying to strangle the life out of her. The screaming becomes even louder, and she can now pick out a couple more words.

“Traitor!”

“Murderer!”

“Monster!”

A sense of vertigo threatens to force her to pass out, and she leans backwards into Laito without a second thought. Vomit begins to climb up her throat, and she has to fight to keep the urge at bay. She tries to focus on Laito’s cologne to keep herself from being lost to the screaming. She tries to force their cries from her mind. Despite knowing they may not mean harm, they still frighten her. She can feel a layer of cold sweat covering her body. She needs to distract herself, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to even form a thought. From the sounds of it, they want some sort of answer. She forces herself to focus on Shiro’s angry face when a question floats to the surface of her mind, though she’s not sure why it’s this question.

His mouth is moving, but she can’t hear his voice over the screams. “Did you know?”

Her voice cuts through the screaming, and everything becomes eerily silent, save for her ragged panting. Her eyes lock with Shiro’s, and she finds a variety of emotions there.

The ones that bring an uncomfortable feeling to the pit of her stomach are the looks of guilt. His voice drops to a whisper, and his voice becomes strangely gentle. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mai. What would I’ve known?”

Frustration fills her body. Tears blur the image of her friend. Without meaning to, she snaps. “About the women? Did you know that they were being sent to their deaths? Did you willingly take part in that? Why?”

She hears him mutter a couple of things before saying. “I told you earlier. The church is the one who decides. They’re the ones who chose the next bride candidates. Or at least they offer up choices to Tougo.”

She barely bites back the snarl. “That’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking if you ever brought anyone here knowing they were going to die.”

Silence is her only answer.

Disgust fills her stomach. She had so much to think about earlier that this simple little fact must have slipped to the back of her mind. She finds herself clenching Laito’s arm tightly. Her body starts to shake with rage and sorrow. Her voice is low when she coldly states. “Then you’re not much better than Laito.”

Laito’s laugh pierces the air, and her frustration grows even more. She easily rips herself from Laito’s loose grip. Thankfully, he wasn’t bothering to really hold her in the first place. She awkwardly spins to face him in the limited amount space she has and practically sneers. “You’re one to laugh. How many innocent people have you hurt? How many girls have fallen for your disgusting charms and become lost in your cold embrace? You’re just as pathetic as Shiro is!”

His laughter cuts off abruptly, and he levels a cool gaze at her. To her utter horror, his eyes are glowing eerily. It suddenly seems like he is towering over her, but she still refuses to shrink down. She continues to glare at him before the scraping of a shoe draws her attention in Shiro’s direction. Her anger flares even more. Disgust at herself fills her body. How could she have been so stupid as to think that she could trust someone other than herself?

A warm feeling begins to fill her eyes before cascading down her cheeks. She has been so worried about picking a side that she didn’t realize there truly is no one on her side. She clenches her fists as tightly as she possibly can. Pain races through her palms, but she stubbornly ignores it. She glances back at Laito’s coldly amusement expression before turning her attention back to Shiro. She does this a couple of times before snapping. “You two only think of yourselves. Shiro, you’re only trying to ease your consciousness by ‘saving’ me, but it won’t attone for the women you and your friends willingly sent to their deaths. How many women knew what they were walking into?”

“I-” Shiro starts, but Mai lifts a hand, effectively halting whatever lame excuse he planned on using.

Her hand is shaking in pure anger and sorrow. “I don’t want to hear about ‘how it’s for the greater good’ or whatever other bullshit you all spew to yourselves to justify your actions. I know Yui wasn’t informed of what she was walking into. There has to be others.”

Her head snaps back to Laito, and she barely keeps herself from curling her lip in disgust. “And you! You’re nothing more than a pathetic womanizer who only cares about his own carnal pleasure. You spout pretty words, but they’re completely meaningless in reality.”

Laito lets out a soft amused chuckle. Before she has a chance to cut him off, he playfully says. “Do you think that your words can hurt me? You’re my plaything, so you’re opinion doesn’t matter to me. It’ll be so much easier if you just played along. You’ll find it much more pleasurable.”

It feels like all the blood in her body rushes to her head, but it’s not in the form of a blush at his purred words. Instead, it’s overwhelming anger. She barely bites back a cry of frustration. Her mind races for an appropriate response. Unfortunately, she doesn’t put much thought into her words. Instead, she says the first thing she can think of to harm him. “I can find pleasure in another form.”

Laito raises a playful eyebrow before he releases yet another chuckle. She doesn’t give him time to ask though. Instead, her eyes narrow, and she quickly, and awkwardly, climbs over the back of the pew in front of her. To her surprise, Laito allows her to do it. The new height gives her a false sense of empowerment. She stares down at Laito, who is giving her an amusedly expectant look. With a jolt, she realizes that he doesn’t think she will. She quickly scrambles for a name and says the first one she can think of. Her voice is steadier than she could’ve hoped for it’d be. “I’d rather have Shuu than you.”

“Mai!” Shiro calls out, but she doesn’t even spare him a glance. She gives Laito a smug look. He continues giving her an amused look, but it still makes her nervous, and she’s not sure why. She quickly climbs off the pew and makes her way past Laito. Cautious relief begins to fill her body when he doesn’t try to stop her. She quickly makes her way out of the pews and almost speeds walk toward the door with cautious glances over her shoulder at the vampire. His glowing green eyes never leave her. Her heart races wildly when her mind catches up with what she had said to the two boys. Her breath catches, and she finds herself running out the door. She doesn’t slow down to shut the door; she doesn’t bother looking over her shoulder to see if she’s being pursued.

In fact, she doesn’t slow down until she is standing in the police station. The second they take in her tattered appearance, an uproar appears around her. She’s shuffled into a room with a large two way window. Questions are thrown her way so fast that she barely has time to process them. She doesn’t even try to hold back anything anymore. She breaks down in tears and tells them that her friend’s in danger. She begs them to go to the mansion and get her away from the people who are harming her. The police interrogating her seem to be taking it seriously until she mentions the fact that vampires are holding her friend captive. She knows it’s the wrong move the moment she says the word. All seriousness melts away from their faces, only to be replaced by a look of irritation. She tries to ignore it and keep telling her story when one of the police officers cuts her off. It’s clear that he’s trying to sound gentle, but he’s barely able to contain the frustration in his voice. “Now, Ms., you know it’s a crime to lie to the police, don’t you? You’re old enough to know that. If this is some prank you and your friends are pulling to waste our time, we won’t hesitate to discipline you all.”

“I-!” Mai starts, but she’s interrupted when the door bursts open. She doesn’t get a chance to see who it is before she is swept up to her feet and trapped in a bone crushing hug. Her face is buried against a shoulder, and a scent she finds familiar, but can’t place, fills her nose. She starts to struggle when the person hugging her begins to start talking.

“Oh my god! Thank you! We were looking everywhere for her!” Kou’s panic filled voice fills the room. Confusion fills her body. Why is he here? What’s going on?

“You are?” A muffled voice asks. She wants to feel relief when Kou finally releases her, but she finds herself unable to. He keeps her pulled to his side. All she can do is breath and try to wiggle free. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem keen on allowing her to escape him. Finally, she turns a questioning glare up at him. He gives her a look of perfect worry before quickly turning his attention the police officers, who are both standing and giving the blonde vampire wary looks. A truly grateful smile spreads over his face before he finally releases her. Mai takes this chance to quickly back away from him.

He gives her a gentle smile before turning his attention back to the police officers. “I’m sorry! I’m her older brother. We’ve been looking everywhere for her! She’s…”

He gets a difficult expression on his face for a moment before he turns to give her a gentle look. Much to her irritation, it’s convincing enough that it might make anyone believe what he’s saying. “She’s prone to delusions. We’ve had this problem before. I’m sorry if she caused you any problems!”

He turns to give them a small bow. He straightens up and reaches over to pull her into his side again. She tries to resist, but his grip on her wrist tightens for a moment before releasing. It’s almost like he is trying to tell her something, but she doesn’t know what it could be. A sad expression spreads over his face. “She was hospitalized a little bit ago, I don’t know if you remember her. She’s the one who harmed herself in the school bathroom. They said that she has probably been having these delusions for years, but they’re only to going to get worse.”

“That’s a lie,” Mai whispers, but no one listens. She turns her eyes on the policemen and gives them her most desperate look. In a louder voice, she says. “Please don’t believe him! I don’t have any siblings! I don’t even really know him!”

The men share an unsure glance between the two of them. A look of pain passes over Kou’s face, and he reaches out to lightly ruffle her hair. “Don’t you remember me? I promise I’m not one of those storybook monsters you ramble about. I’m your big brother.”

His eyes slowly fill with tears, and he clears his throat. She turns a panicked gaze to the police officers, only to feel all hope wither away deep in her gut. They are now wearing looks of pure sympathy on their faces.

They seem to be completely taken in by Kou’s acting and lies. Her shoulders fall, and she feels herself feeling strangely empty. She numbly watches Kou give them some sort of ID. Once everything is checked, he promises to keep a better eye on her from now on. She watches the whole thing unfold with a sense of numbness invading her body. In fact, the only time she reacts is when he presses a light kiss to the top of her head. She flinches a little, but she doesn’t protest. She allows him to steer her out of the police station. He calls out a couple thank yous over his shoulder.

Her gaze locks with three pairs of eyes just outside the station. Her body tenses upon seeing a boy that she didn’t know standing near the back. He has dark, short hair with a cold expression on his face. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get much of a chance to inspect him, since Yuma had stepped in front of him. She considers turning toward the police that had escorted them, but she doesn’t get a chance to. Kou suddenly leans closer to her and mutters softly. “Be quiet and obedient if you know what is good for you.”

He lightly nudges her in the direction of the other Mukami’s. She makes it down a few steps before she stops. Why is she going along with this so easily? She turns to face the police officers when Yuma’s large arm wraps around her head. All of a sudden, she finds herself pinned against his side in an awkward position. She lets out an awkward squeaking sound which becomes a hiss of pain when Yuma painfully grinds his knuckles along her scalp in the form of a noogie. He states harshly. “Good god, kid! You had us worried! Didn’t we tell you not to run off? You can get hurt!”

Unfortunately, she isn’t able to make a sound around Yuma’s arm. All she can do is flail pitifully against his side while trying to find the best way to land a punch. Unfortunately, they all seem to harmlessly bounce off his body.

She faintly hears Kou talking to the police, but she isn’t able to make it out what is being said. After what feels like an eternity, she is released. She wastes no time in gasping for breath and quickly reeling away from Yuma’s towering form. Unfortunately, she’s still on the stairs in front of the police station. Her foot misses a stair, and she feels weightless for just a moment before her body collides hard with something. Her head falls back with a solid crack, and white hot pain shoots through her brain. She releases a cry before squatting down on the stairs and cradling her skull. Kou and Yuma begin to laugh, much to Mai’s humiliation. Despite the pounding in her brain, she forces herself to look behind her. To her surprise, she finds she had crashed into Azusa. His emotionless eyes regard her silently, though he has a bandaged hand lifted to his face. She releases a groan of pain and closes her eyes.

After a few seconds of silence, she forces her eyes open. With a jolt, she finds herself surrounded by the four brothers. She quickly straightens, trying to ignore the dizzy feeling. Her gaze flickers from one face to another until it falls on the unfamiliar boy from before. She knows Kou told her his name, but her panic stricken mind can’t seem to pull it up. She awkwardly makes a noise that’s suppose to be the question ‘what do you want’? Instead, it comes out garbled jumble of words. A sadistic grin spreads over Yuma’s face before he lets out another loud laugh.

The dark haired boy gives Yuma a cool look before turning his attention back to Mai. He clearly gives her a once over, causing Mai to feel a sense of self-consciousness. He releases a soft indescribable sound before he says in a low, calm tone. “You’re not what I was expecting.”

Before she has a chance to ask him what he means, a hand shoves her. She barely manages to catch herself before she falls head first into Azusa. Unfortunately, it seems to be the cue to start walking. She awkwardly finds herself walking along side them in favor of being shoved. Her tongue feels heavy in her mouth, and a million questions run through her mind. Thankfully, she doesn’t have to voice them, since the dark haired boy leading the way starts to speak. “My name is Ruki Mukami.”

An awkward silence settles over them, leaving Mai to wonder if she should tell him her name. Finally, she decides that the silence is too stifling, so she opens her mouth to introduce herself. Unfortunately, Ruki calmly states, “I already know who you are. In any case, your name isn’t important to me.”

She can’t stop herself from asking, “Then why are you here?”

Ruki casts a glance over his shoulder, but his gaze doesn’t linger. She finds herself thankful for that. His gaze is almost as piercing as Reiji’s. His voice floats back to her only moments later. “We aren’t here to help you in any way.”

She finds herself staring moodily at the back of his head. He either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care. He simply continues talking. “We were asked to come to your rescue before you did something that you’d regret later.”

Her mouth suddenly feels dry. Who would send them? Out of the corner of her eye, she spots a head of green hair. Her gaze snaps in that direction. Just past Asusa, she finds a pair of familiar eyes. A frown adorns Ritcher’s face, but he’s gone after she blinks. Her gaze drops to her feet, and she feels disgust welling up in the pit of her stomach. Why isn’t she resisting? She flinches. All she as to do is glance around her for the answer to that question. There are four vampires surrounding her, and they are likely just as dangerous as the Sakamaki’s.

Another good reason is the sting in her knee every time she puts weight on that leg. Adrenaline had helped her to forget about it, but the adrenaline has since worn off. 

She’s so preoccupied with her thoughts that she almost walks into Ruki’s back. In fact, it’s only Azusa’s cold, but soft, touch on her elbow that prevents it. Her gaze snaps up to meet Azusa’s emotionless one before turning to meet Ruki’s gaze. She finds it just as emotionless as Azusa, which sends a chill down her spine. It almost seems as if the Sakamaki’s were more expressful. Ruki steps to the side, allowing her to see the limo waiting a few feet in front of the group.

A sense of worry washes over her. What’s going to happen to her? She glances around, but they seem to have entered an alley way. With a sinking feeling, she remember the police won’t do anything, even if they were called. Kou had convinced them she was his little sister. A sense of defeat threatens to overwhelm her, but she decides to fight the uncomfortable feeling. 

Without warning, a cold hand lands on the top of her head. She jumps and immediately pulls away. She doesn’t even bother worrying about the fact that she has pressed herself in between Yuma and Kou, who makes a sound of annoyance and steps away. She uses the new space to keep herself from touching Yuma. Her gaze locks with yet another familiar one, only this time he isn’t smiling.

Touga is giving her a look of pure worry. His hand is still outstretched from before. He lets out a soft sigh, drops his hand to his side, and says gently, “Have my foolish sons been hurting you?”

She finds herself unable to even form words, let alone move any part of her body. Every warning bell in her mind is going off. Remembering how immobile she was the last time she looked into his eyes, she quickly turns her gaze to Yuma. Once his eyes meet hers, Yuma gives her a playfully sadistic grin. She returns it with a scowl of her own. 

She grits her teeth upon hearing a sigh from Touga’s direction. His gentle voice cuts through the air around her. “I’m very sorry for their behavior. They’re obnoxious, but they all had difficult mothers while they grew up. I should’ve been there for them, but I had work. I know that isn’t an excuse, but I still deeply regret it.”

Despite herself, she finds her gaze turning back to look at him. A troubled look adorns his face, but she has a nagging feeling deep inside her stomach that he isn’t troubled at all. His eyes meet hers, and it feels as if a physical weight has been placed on her shoulders. Her mind begins to feel hazy. She can feel her eyelids growing heavy, and it’s becomes an ordeal just to keep them open. Before she realizes it, something cold is gently rubbing over her cheek. Her eyes slowly blink while her sluggish thoughts try to process what is happen. Once they are fully open again, it feels like everything around her has jumped back into sharp focus. Touga is suddenly too close for comfort. One of his hands is outstretched in her direction. In fact, he’s the cause of the cold sensation on her cheek. His thumb is lightly brushing over the skin just below her eye. She jerks away and reels backwards a few steps before her body crashes into something solid. There is a grunt of annoyance behind her, causing her heart to leap into her throat. With a quick glance over her shoulder, she finds her eyes meeting Ruki’s cold gaze.

Fear coats the inside of her mouth. She thought he was standing close to, if not behind, Touga. When did he move? And why is he standing behind her?

That’s when the answer comes to her. Her eyes flick to her left to find Yuma had scooted closer, though he isn’t close enough to touch.

Her head snaps to the right to find Kou just as close a Yuma. His arms are lifted, and his hands have disappeared behind his head. His gaze catches hers, and a playful smile spreads over his face. A cold sweat breaks out over her skin at the sight. It isn’t a cheerful, or friendly, smile. It’s clearly meant to be dark.

The overwhelming need to flee threatens to overtake her, but it won’t do any good. It’ll be a waste of energy, and she’s likely to be hurt in the process. She slowly turns her gaze until it meets an empty grey one. He’s standing just behind Yuma. One of his hands is lifted to his mouth, clearly displaying the bandages wrapped around his forearm. Her heart leaps into her throat, and she suddenly finds it incredibly hard to breath. She’s surrounded.

Cold fingers brush along her jaw, causing her to unintentionally flinch closer to Yuma. Her frightened gaze snaps back to meet Touga’s kind one. Oddly enough, she doesn’t get the weightless feeling this time. He offers her a gentle smile and says softly. “I may not have been there for my children, but I can be there for you. Perhaps it’ll help to ease some of the guilt I’m feeling over my sons’ treatment.”

A sick feeling pours into the pit of her stomach, but she finds it impossible to tear her gaze away from his. Thought after thought races through her mind. She speaks before she realizes it. “You’ll save me from them?”

Her voice sounds foreign, even to herself. It trembles just as bad as the rest of her body. Without warning, bile starts to claw it’s way up her throat, leaving a burning trail behind. The sudden, rancid smell isn’t helping matters.

Despite herself, she finds herself grateful for the chill racing down her spine. As twisted as it may be, she’s glad she can smell rotting flesh. It helps to pull her out of the deep pit of roiling emotions she finds herself drowning in. With renewed strength, she manages to settle a look of indifference on her face and barely manages to bite back a rude retort.

She wants to tell him that he’s a failure as a father, brother, and husband. Why save her when he willingly stood by and allowed so many other lives to be lost? Why extend a helping hand when someone like Laito become a corrupted, horrible person at the hands of his own mother? Her teeth find her lip. The bile climbs up to the point she is almost gagging, but she fights the sensation. Instead, she focuses on her thoughts. The women must be helping her at this point. It’d do no good for her lose her temper or say something to anger a group of unfriendly vampires.

With as much gratitude she can muster, she states carefully, “I appreciate your offer. I truly do; however, I do not feel it necessary to save me. I’m quite happy where I am.”

She fully expects to see surprise, or even anger. Instead, a smug smile passes over his face. It’s as if she gave the answer he was looking for. Her body shudders when he allows her to see a look of victory pass over his face. She takes a step back, only to have her body collide with who she assumes to be Ruki once more. She flinches forward, fully expecting him to reach out for her.

To her surprise, Ruki allows her to step away. She blinks in confusion, only to find herself standing alone in the middle of the street, even the limo is gone. Her heart skips a couple of beats. This is almost too good to be true. She cautiously turns in a slow circle, looking for any sign of the vampires. She’s not sure if she feels lucky or scared when she comes up empty handed. She closes her eyes and releases a sigh of relief after the seconds turn to minutes without any sign of them. Her eyes slowly open once more. She decides it’s time to head home and get cleaned up. She glances down at the dried blood on her body and flinches.

At least the smell of her blood didn’t provoke them into drinking her blood. The simple thought of having her blood sucked leaves her feeling dizzy. Why didn’t they?

She quickly shakes her head to clear it of unpleasant thoughts. Why think about something unpleasant? Besides, she doesn’t really understand vampires anyway.

A startled scream leaves her throat when she turns just in time for a familiar face to appear inches from her own. She scrambles back a few steps and presses a hand over her racing heart, as if it will help calm it.

“Hmph.” The noise is clearly made in disapproval, but she could care less at the moment. The fear was already disappearing, and it being replaced by anger. Her eyes narrow at Ritcher, though he doesn’t seem affected by it. He straightens his body and stares down at her in what can only be described as an arrogant manner. After a few minutes of tense, stubborn silence, Ritcher finally says, “Cordellia wants to see you.”

Mai feels every muscle in her body begin to tense. The last thing she wants to do is face the imposter. She just wants to go home and take a nice long bath to soak her wounds and relax her tense muscles. She takes another cautious step backwards, while eyeing Ritcher warily. He’s giving her a cold look of pure indifference, but there is a hint of impatience starting to creep into the edges. For a moment, she wonders why he hasn’t grabbed her and teleported already.

Unfortunately, the moment she finish the thought is when he decides to do just that. His cold hand wraps around her upper arm, and she doesn’t have time to even flinch before the world spins. A sick feeling wells up in her stomach, and tears cloud her eyes for a moment. She can feel the bile in the back of her throat once more. The spinning stops so abruptly that she feels off balance. Stubbornly twisting her body away from Ritcher, she stumbles until something bumps the back of her knees. Her heart leaps into her throat, and she’s unable to catch herself. Her heart stops when she falls backwards. Thankfully, her fall is short, and she lands on something soft. Unfortunately, it still doesn’t stop the startled squeak from leaving her. She flails for a moment before she notices that she’s sitting on a chair in the large living room of the Sakamaki manor. The sound of unfamiliar laughter draws her gaze in that direction.

Her eyes meet haunting green ones, and the air leaves her in a rush. She still isn’t used to seeing Yui’s face sporting green eyes. The mocking smirk adorning her face just drives the nail deeper. Mai can feel a frown spreading over her face. Cordelia lifts a hand to cover her mouth as if to play at being coy. Her voice comes out low and playful. “Hello, sweet Mai. How nice of you to drop in.”

Mai’s eyes narrow, but she doesn’t say a word. To be honest, she’s not sure what to say. Movement draws her gaze just over Cordelia’s shoulder. Her eyes meet Ritcher’s cold gaze. A tsking noise draws her attention back down. Cordelia lightly flicks a hand, as if dismissing something. The silent question running through Mai’s mind is answered only moments later. “Don’t mind Ritcher. He won’t harm you. Will you, my love?”

Cordelia’s voice is hard to describe. There is a playful, almost flirtatious ring to it, but it has a certain biting undertone that Mai can’t quite place. She lets her gaze flick from Cordelia to Ritcher, who gives a stern nod. Mai’s gaze turns back to the female vampire and regards her silently for a few moments. Disgust fills Mai’s body. Cordelia has redressed Yui into a tight fitting dress that hangs low on her chest. It pushes what little Yui has to offer up to try to enhance them. A large slit along the thigh allows Cordelia to rest her feet on the couch beside her while she reclines against the arm. Before she can help herself, Mai wonders what Reiji would think of feet on one of his couches.

Unfortunately, she doesn’t get time to dwell on it, since Cordelia climbs to her feet. She spreads her arms wide as if she plans to hug the entire room. “I fear that we may have gotten off on the wrong foot, my dear.”

Almost instantly, Mai feels every muscle tense, and a sense of caution takes over. Cordelia seems to sense this, since her smile widens a bit more. Her arms drop to her sides. Before Mai can react, Cordelia pushes her against the arm of the chair and crams Yui’s small body beside her, effectively crushing the two of them together. The urge to flee takes over, and she tries to leap up. Unfortunately, two iron-like arms wrap around Mai’s body, effectively halting any escape attempt. She knows Yui isn’t that heavy, but she finds herself unable to even move. Cordelia’s voice is low and sultry in her ear. “I have something to make it up to you. You just have to accept.”

For some reason, this forceful behavior reminds her of Laito. Cold panic settles in her stomach, and she finds herself unable to breath. It feels like weight is pressing in on her from all sides. The only thought racing through her mind is that she has to get out of there as soon as possible. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get a chance to even thrash before the next unexpected thing happens.

“Hello, mother,” a soft voice calls out. Mai’s eyes snap up from the carpet, though she’s not sure when they got there. Her eyes take in a surprising sight. Kanato is standing at the other end of the room, clutching Teddy tightly to his chest. With a far away look in his eyes, he presses the lower half of his face is against his teddy bear.

Mai’s eyes flick between Cordelia and Kanato a few times before movement out of the corner of her eye catches her attention. She glances to find a body blocking her sight of Kanato. She lifts her gaze to find that it’s Ritcher, though he doesn’t spare her a single glance. He’s standing at an angle so she can see his face. His eyes are locked onto Kanato with an unreadable look on his face.. Silence descends on the four of them for a few minutes. Mai flinches when she feels Cordelia begin shifting. A hand is cautiously extended toward Kanato, and Cordelia gives it just the faintest of flicks.

“Mai, my dear, you must hear my little song bird. His voice is simply exquisite,” she coos. Her green eyes turn to meet Mai’s gaze. A smile spreads over her face, and she releases a soft, almost airy, moan, effectively startling Mai. “It’ll be my apology gift to you.”

“I don-” Mai starts to refuse. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get a chance to finish.

“Sing for us, my little song bird. You know which song,” Cordelia states, clearly trying to drown out Mai’s own voice.

“No, I re-”

“As you wish,” Kanato states, lifting his face from the back of Teddy’s head. Startled by how obedient he’s being, Mai awkwardly leans around Ritcher to stare at the purple haired vampire. Without another wasted second, Kanato closes his eyes and begins to sing a soft song. Despite the fact she’s heard him singing before, Mai finds his voice to be beautiful, but it does little to calm her nerves. After a few minutes, Kanato seems to finish his song. A shudder runs through Cordelia, and she lifts her hand to gesture at Kanato again. Without missing a beat, he starts the song over. Mai jumps when a sultry voice whispers in her ear.

“Isn’t his voice just intoxicating?”

Mai leans away from Cordelia the best she can without touching Ritcher. The suffocating feeling is starting to swim over her once more. The expectant look on Cordelia’s face lets Mai know that she won’t get out of this without answering. She clears her throat. “I suppose it is.”

She flinches. That’s not what she wanted to say. She turns her gaze toward Kanato once more, though he doesn’t look fazed by her words. In fact, it appears that he isn’t even listening to them. He just continues singing. Cordelia releases a soft chuckle and settles back. Once more, a low moan leaves her mouth, causing Mai to feel even more uncomfortable. Cordelia’s voice is barely audible now. “It really gets me going.”

That’s enough to have Mai bolting to her feet. She quickly scrambles away from Ritcher and Cordelia before spinning to face the two of them with a look of horror. Cordelia had reclined Yui’s body back into an awkward position that causes Mai to quickly look away. Her eyes focus on the wall on the opposite side of the room. She stiffly says. “Ok. I think I’ve heard enough. I’m going to go h-”

A sharp, mocking laughter almost causes her to turn her attention back to the infuriating woman. Thankfully, she’s able to keep her gaze turned away. Cordelia’s voice matches her laugh. “There’s nothing to be shy about, my dear. We are both women. Besides, there are no virgins here.”

Heat rushes to Mai’s face, and she has to fight to keep the blush from overtaking her face. She manages to grit out. “That’s not the point.”

Cordelia giggles like a young girl. Her next question throws Mai off guard. “So, you were with my husband?”

Mai turns her attention to find a surprisingly sharp, calculating look on Cordelia’s face. She loses the fight against her blush and says sternly, “I wasn’t with him! Laito is… the….”

Her voice trails off when a soft chuckle leaves Cordelia’s mouth. The blush gets an even deeper red when Mai realizes that she didn’t mean in a sexual sense. Cordelia slowly sits up, much to Mai’s relief. Her tone is colored with genuine curiosity with her next question. “Is he well?”

“Uh,” Mai stupidly states. Finally, she settles with a slow nod. Instead of relief, a look of sadistic glee passes over her friend’s stolen face but it’s gone only moments later. Cordelia lifts her hand to repeat the same gesture from before when Kanato’s voice fades. Once again, the purple haired vampire starts the song over. Mai glances over her shoulder at him with a frown. She thought he’d be getting tired at this point. He hasn’t had a chance to rest nor has he had anything to drink, but he isn’t showing any signs of being tired. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get a chance to say anything about it, since Cordelia starts talking again.

“Very well. I’d hate for him to not be at full strength when I kill him,” she states. Mai’s gaze snaps back to the woman sitting before her. A grin adorns Cordelia’s face, but it’s far from friendly. “Since you seem to be so close to my beloved, than perhaps you can be of use.”

Disgust fills the pit of her stomach. Before she gets a chance to deny, Cordelia flinches. A look of pain passes over her face. She lifts a hand to press the heel of her palm to just above her eye. She hisses softly, “Silence, child!”

“Yui?” Mai hopefully asks. Green eyes lift to glare at Mai, only they flicker to a frightened red color. Mai stumbles forward a few steps, but red changes back to furious green ones. Suddenly, Cordelia is on her feet. Her now cold eyes remain locked on Mai, causing a shudder to run down her spine.

After a brief staring contest, the cold look melts away, but there’s still a chilly tension between them. Mai retreats a few steps when Cordelia seems to appear only inches in front of her. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get away fast enough, and a very cold hand rests against her cheek. Cordelia gives her an almost gentle look, but Mai finds it almost nauseating instead of comforting. She leans back, but Cordelia doesn’t allow her to escape her touch. Instead, she leans further into Mai until they are almost touching.

“Kanato, leave us,” Cordelia says softly. Mai turns a frightened glance in the purple haired vampire’s direction, but he’s already gone. Thankfully, the cold hand disappears. A puff of cold air on her cheek pulls a startled gasp from Mai. She flinches back a couple of steps while her gaze turns to glare into cold green eyes. Cordelia playfully says. “Time for some girl talk, no?”

Mai grits her teeth and almost refuses, but Reiji’s words come floating back to the front of her mind. Loathing fills her entire being, but she knows this could possibly be one of her few chances to get to know Cordelia better. The better she knows her enemy, the easier it’ll be to save her friend.

Overwhelming sadness suddenly takes over, and tears spring to her eyes. The thought of friendship reminds her of Shiro. He didn’t betrayed her, but she doesn’t know what to do about him anymore. Can she trust him? A shiver runs down her body. Without warning, she finds a weight pulling her down. She doesn’t even get a chance to shake the thoughts and catch herself before she finds herself sitting beside Cordelia on the couch. Cordelia is wearing a serious expression that sends a jolt of fear to the very center of Mai’s being. A small smile causes the edges of Cordelia’s mouth to twitch, but they never form into one. A look of despair takes over her face, and Mai can’t tell if it’s an act or genuine. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get long to dwell on her thoughts.

Cordelia runs her fingers through Mai’s hair a couple of times before starting to lightly braid it. Mai tries to lean away, but Cordelia gives a sharp tug, effectively halting any escape. Her voice fills the silent room. “I just wanted him to love me. I felt so lucky to have caught his eye.”

Confusion fills Mai, but she’s not sure if she should interrupt with questions. Cordelia finishes the braid only to undo it and begin to twist it into a new hair style.

“I was his first wife, but I didn’t want children. He knew that. Children are repulsive and demanding. They’re never satisfied. He’s the one who wanted them. When I refused, he found his second wife. That bitch Beatrix.” Tears prickle Mai’s eyes when pain races through her scalp. Cordelia’s pulling roughly on the tender area near her neck. Mai closes her eyes and tries to ignore the pain by focusing on her breathing, since she can’t find anything to say in response to what she is hearing. The last thing she wants to do is irritate the vampire further. “That little whore gave him two sons first, but it doesn’t matter. Or it didn’t matter.”

There’s a strange undertone to Cordelia’s voice. It almost sounds like an angry sadness, but Mai can’t put her finger on it. Unfortunately, she isn’t given a chance to even say anything. Cordelia states in a cold manner. “Of course you don’t like me. You’ve only listened to those ungrateful brats of mine. I did everything a mother could to make sure that Ayato would be the next head of the family. After all, that’s where he belongs.”

She practically hisses the word. The hairdo that she is working on is so painfully tight at this point that tears leak down Mai’s cheeks. In fact, Mai has to bite her lip to keep from whimpering. Her hands ball in what’s left of her pants to keep from reaching up to try to pull her hair free. Cordelia doesn’t seem to notice though. Her voice takes on an even sharper edge as she continues her speech. “That… that little bastard attacked me! After all the careful tutoring I gave him to defeat that bitch’s children. I made sure he had everything he could ever want or need, and how did he repay me?”

Relief floods through her scalp when the angry vampire begins to untwist her hair. She lets out a shuddering breath, and her tense body begins to relax. Thankfully, it goes unnoticed. Cordelia continues. “That little bastard corrupts everything he touches. Why couldn’t he just do as he was told?”

Mai closes her eyes and tries her best to tune the woman out. Unfortunately, there is a sharp tug on her hair, drawing a sharp whimper from her mouth. Her eyes snap open, and she finds herself watching Ritcher, who is seated in a chair with an impassive look on his face. Cordelia releases a soft snarl. “I thought Laito would help me. After all, I had given him nothing but love…”

Mai lunches to her feet. She both hears and feels a handful of hair detaching itself from her scalp. She releases a sharp snarl at the pain and spins on Cordelia, who’s wearing a small smirk. Her thoughts are racing so wildly that she isn’t sure where to start. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get a chance to even get her thoughts in order. Cordelia’s next words send a cold chill to the pit of her stomach. “You don’t care for my sons, do you?”

There’s an almost challenging edge to her words. Mai clenches her jaw tightly. She has a feeling that she needs to choose her next words carefully. Thankfully, Cordelia allows the silence to prevail for as long as Mai needs it to. Finally, Mai cautiously says. “Of course I do. I care about all of them. They’re….”

Her voice trails off. What should she say? They’re victims of circumstance? That doesn’t seem right. After all, they are all old enough to know between right and wrong, but they are clearly ignoring it. Mai’s teeth clench together so hard they begin to hurt.

“Ahh,” Cordelia coos. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for one of them? Laito I assume. As I could see the fear in your eyes when you saw Kanato, and I’ve seen your interaction with Ayato through this foolish human’s eyes.”

A sadistic smirk spreads over Cordelia’s stolen face. “Ah, but she’s not human anymore, is she?”

Mai turns her gaze away, despite knowing it’s not wise to lose sight of your enemies. She releases a sharp breath and says a lot steadier than she believed possible. “I don’t love Laito.”

It’s silent so long that Mai finally manages to gather her courage to look back at Cordelia, who is reclining against the couch with a thoughtful look on her face. “If it’s not Laito, who keeps you here?”

“I’m trying to sav-” Mai starts, but Cordelia waves a dismissive hand in Mai’s direction.

“Perhaps at first it was a foolish desire to save this silly girl, but you’ve realized it’s impossible long ago. You may be a foolish human, but you’re far from stupid. Something else drew you in. Something you won’t even admit to yourself,” Cordelia mutters just above a whisper. Her green eyes suddenly latch onto Mai’s. “Perhaps it isn’t Laito. I’ve seen your interactions though this girl. You fear him, though not as much as you fear Kanato.”

Without warning. Cordelia is on her feet, and Mai finds herself being circled. Unease fills her body, and she turns to keep track of the woman. Her heart hammers loudly in her chest, like she’s a frightened rabbit facing a hungry wolf. Cordelia’s eyes easily slide up and down Mai’s body. A thoughtful voice leaves Cordelia’s mouth. “It’s not Christa’s boy, is it?”

“Huh?” Mai stupidly asks. Cordelia releases a soft chuckle and shakes her head.

“No. That brat is unlovable, and just as unstable as his own mother.” A cold look settles on Cordelia’s face. “So, it’s one of beatrix’s boys?”

“Uh,” Mai stutters out. Her mind scrambles to figure out the meaning behind this conversation. She’s not sure why but she thinks it might be useful if Cordelia believes she’s involved with one of the older boys. If she can figure out what Cordelia’s after, perhaps it’d help her figure out who to name. “Why…. Why does it matter?”

Cordelia releases an almost gentle laugh. She places a light hand on Mai’s shoulder, and it’s all she can to not to rip herself away. Cordelia says in a soft voice. “This silly girl keeps crying out for you to run away. For you not to believe what I’m about to say next, are you going to listen to her advice?”

Mai swallows hard. Her throat feels dry and raw. Every instinct is screaming at her to say yes and run, but there’s a small flash of red that helps to steady her nerves. She can’t leave Yui to such a horrible fate. At least not alone. Slowly, Mai starts to shake her head. A look of approval flashes over Cordelia’s face, and she gives Mai a gentle smile. “Good girl. I want to know, because I plan to kill the vampire king myself. I’ll prove my love is the strongest. Once that’s done, we’ll need a new vampire king. As this girl was supposed to be the bride, whomever she chose would succeed next; however, I will not abide that little bastard assuming the throne. Nor will I allow Laito to assume the throne. Both have grievances to pay for, and they’ll be paying them for a long time. I’d prefer one of my own assumed the throne, but that only leaves Kanato. I’d be so lonely without my little song bird, so I’d prefer you didn’t take him.”

“Wait. I don’t understand,” Mai says cautiously. “I’m not a bride candidate.”

“Tsk,” Cordelia clicks her tongue in an almost playful manner. Her voice lowers like she’s talking to a baby. “Of course you aren’t, my dear. But you aren’t a normal human either. I mean in phyical terms you are, but you’ve survived these tormentors for months. That’s changed you, as I’m sure you have started to realize. Not only bride candidates are capable of becoming one of us, you know. Those foolish Mukami brothers were human once, but enough of the unpleasantries. I have a very important job for you to do.”

“No, I don-” Mai starts, but Cordelia cuts her off as if she wasn’t talking in the first place.

“First, you must tell me. Is it the oldest son?”

“I….”

“Is it, my dear?” Cordelia gives her an almost motherly smile. Mai’s thoughts race wildly.

“Why? Why does it….” Mai’s voice slowly ebbs out into a scared squeak, much to her displeasure.

Cordelia blinks, as if she doesn’t understand why Mai is asking the exact same question again. She tilts her head a little, reminding Mai of Kanato for a brief moment. In a questioning tone, Cordelia says. “Why are you asking again? The answer is obvious. It’s so I know who to get close to. It’ll be easier if you chose that lazy son. He’s easy to manipulate and less like that bitch.”

Mai takes a moment to consider her options. It’s obviously unbelievable that she’s involved with Subaru, and she doesn’t want to drag him any further than he already is. Shuu doesn’t have any to do with their meeting. Laito and Ayato aren’t part of the plan either. With a frown, Mai realizes that the best bet would be to say Reiji. The thought sends a cold chill to her heart. She doesn’t want to be associated with the sadistic vampire, but she knows he’d be a smart choice. With a reluctant sense of determination, she looks Cordelia straight in the eye. “No. It’s… It’s… Reiji.”

Those words are harder to get out than she would’ve liked. She clears her throat just as Cordelia starts to laugh. The sound echoes hauntingly off the walls. Suddenly, Cordelia is inches from Mai’s face. A cool look of pure entertainment colors her face. “Reiji? That stiff runt? I agree he does have some looks. In fact, he looks just like a younger version of his father, but I know he’s not the one. You hesitated for too long. You’re hiding your real lover.”

A chilly finger reaches up to run along Mai’s jaw. A cold edge slowly works it’s way into green eyes once more. It’s a familiar cold edge, since it’s one that she’s seen on Laito’s face when Mai begins to get on his nerves. Cold terror forms in the pit of her stomach, but she tries to ignore it. She needs to focus on the danger right in front of her. Mai’s wounds give a sudden painful throb, as if to remind her just how dangerous of an opponent she’s dealing with. She stubbornly starts to shake her head, but Cordelia’s nail digs painfully into her jaw. With a stern voice, Cordelia states. “It’s not Reiji.”

“It is,” Mai mutters softly. “I like R-”

She hears the sound before she feels any pain. Mai blinks in confusion for a few seconds. She reaches up to place a hand over the already red mark on her face. She finds herself staring at a now emotionless Cordelia. With an emotionless tone, the vampire says, “I don’t appreciate being lied to. A punishment is in order.”

Mai doesn’t even bother trying to respond. She never would’ve had a chance anyway. A cold hand clamps painfully down on her arm, and her head starts to spin. Thankfully, it only lasts a moment. It’s nothing compared to when Laito or anyone else has teleported her. It stops sooner than she expects it to. She quickly glances around, expecting to find herself in Shuu’s room, but she’s not. In fact, she’s sure she’s never been in this room before. Or at least it isn’t immediately familiar to panicked mind, which doesn’t mean much. Her eyes flick around, taking in the sights. One of the first things she notices is the sharp smell of chemicals that almost burn her nasal passages. The room is warmer than she thought possible. With a jolt, she realizes that the other rooms have always been cold aside from when she and Yui cooked. Book shelves line the walls behind long tables filled with various beakers and other experimentation items. Some have liquid, others are completely empty. There are a few tables that have books neatly piled on them. Comfortable chairs rest beside a few of those tables.

Mai swallows hard. She has a feeling she knows who the room belongs to.

“I see you haven’t been in here before,” Cordelia calmly states. With a disinterested look, her fingers begin to lightly brush a couple of the beakers. She arrives at a rather large beaker filled with an unidentifiable, clear liquid. With a little extra pressure, the beaker is sent careening to the floor.

“Ah!” Is all Mai gets out of her mouth before the sound of glass shattering fills the room. The second it breaks open the liquid begins to bubble, and a sharp burning smell starts to overtake all other smells. Mai quickly covers her mouth and nose, since she doesn’t know what the effects of the liquid will be. Her eyes widen while she watches the liquid start to eat away at a beautiful rug that is resting below the table. “Wh….”

Acid. That’s the only thing she can think of, but she isn’t sure what kind it is. The thought of the owner’s angry face is enough for her to want to flee the room. She spins on her heel to look for a door when she collides with a body. Two arms reach out to keep her steady, though she doesn’t really need it. She doesn’t want to look up, but her curiosity gets the better of her. The moment they lift, her heart sinks. Reiji’s grip on her upper arms tighten to the point of pain, but she can’t find words to ask him to release her. His face appears impassive, uncaring even, but the grip on her seems to spell out his anger. Once his smooth voice comes out, Mai wonders if, perhaps, she’s wrong.

“Hello, stepmother,” Reiji says politely. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Cordelia releases another chuckle, and Mai tries to glance over her shoulder. Unfortunately, the only thing Mai can see is Cordelia’s back. Reiji’s grip loosens drawing Mai’s gaze back. For a moment, she thinks she sees impatience, but it’s gone before she can be sure.

“I see you take sloppy seconds, though I do suppose you’re use to such things. Are you not?” Cordelia says in a sickeningly sweet voice. Mai’s eyes snap back over her shoulder, but they don’t stay there long. Reiji’s fingers somehow find the edge of a muscle group in her arm and dig painfully into the almost nonexistent gap between them. She releases a soft hiss and closes her eyes. She hears Cordelia’s chuckle. “She’s not your taste, is she? Too wild and unrefined? I’ve watched you for a while, Beatrix’s son. I know what you look for in the opposite sex. That foolish girl tried to lie and say that you were her secret lover, but your scent barely clings to her. In fact, I smell more of Ayato on her, and even that is almost overpowered by Laito.”

Mai feels sick to her stomach when the pain gets worse. Her legs give out, but that only increases it since she’s now only being held up by her arms. She barely gasps out “Reiji.”

Unfortunately, she is ignored. Reiji releases a sigh that almost sounds as if he were defeated. “I suppose it’s b-”

There is another shattering sound, and she can feel Reiji twitch. It’s so light that she almost thought that it was her doing the flinching. She forces her eyes open to look up at him. His face is still impassive, but she can almost feel the anger roiling from him. The longer she looks at him, the more she starts to second guess herself. Maybe it’s her own pained shaking. Cordelia’s voice suddenly fills the silence. “Don’t try to lie to me, child.”

“I’m not,” Reiji states in a stern tone. Silence fills the room again, and tension continues to mount. Finally, Cordelia releases a soft chuckle, and Reiji pulls his fingers from Mai’s arms. One arm slides around her waist, while the other hand buries itself in her hair. To her utter shock, she finds herself pulled flush against Reiji. Her face is pressed against his chest, effectively cutting off her oxygen. She’s too stunned to move at first, but it slowly registers that she needs to breath. She’s faintly aware of the two vampires talking, and she thinks she hears a couple of names. She puts her hands against his chest and starts to push. It feels like her lungs are gaining the telltale sign of burning due to lack of proper air, but she’s not sure if it’s not just her own panic making her think she’s suffocating. 

Thankfully, she doesn’t have to wonder long, since Reiji abruptly lets her go. She stumbles back. Her feet get tangled around one another, and she ends up crashing heavily on her butt. She releases a grunt of pain before turning a glare on Reiji. He doesn’t spare her a glance. Instead, he steps around her. To her surprise, Mai finds Cordelia is gone. She scrambles to her knees, flinching when pain races up her spine. Her eyes find Reiji’s back while he crouches down. She can see him cautiously picking at pieces of glass. He releases a sigh before straightening himself up and moving toward a trash can she hadn’t noticed before.

“Reiji,” Mai says softly. A pang of guilt rushes through her chest. She sits in a kneeling postion, trying to keep from sitting on her butt directly. “I didn’t…”

“Leave, human,” Reiji states with a sharp edge to his voice. She tenses and considers ignoring his request, but the stubborn thought lingers for a moment. She has a feeling that he’s upset, and he scares her enough when he’s being nice. She quickly gets to her feet. After a glance around, she finds the door. She almost expects him to say something snide on her way out, but he remains silent. A part of her is relieved while another, much smaller, part has a nagging sense of worry. Thankfully, it’s easy to crush. She slides through the door into what appears to be a bedroom. She quickly shuts the door and makes her way across the room, but her eyes still glance around. There are beautiful dishes locked behind a couple of cabinets. She wants to slow and inspect them, but the thought of Reiji’s anger spurs her on. She turns her attention back to the exit and slips out into the hallway.

A breath of relief leaves her when the door shuts quietly behind her. She lets out a startled cry when she hears a scoff from somewhere beside her. She whirls around to meet angry red eyes.

“Do you have to scream?” Subaru snarls at her. Mai presses a hand over her racing heart and gives Subaru a glare of her own.

“Maybe you shouldn’t sneak up on people,” She snaps back.

Subaru straightens himself off the wall and steps close in order to tower over her, but she refuses to cower. He leans his face incredibly close to hers and says in a snarl-like voice. “I was standing here the second you left Reiji’s room. Maybe if you weren’t so stupid and unobservant you would’ve seen me.”

Mai’s eyes narrow, but she can’t think of anything else to say to that without sounding like she was making excuses. She decides to simply reach out, put a hand in the center of his chest and lightly push. He resists for a moment before, much to her surprise, he lets her push him away. She lets out a soft sigh of reliefand asks softly. “What do you need, Subaru?”

His red eyes flicker over her face for a moment before his cold hand wraps around her wrist. That’s all the warning she gets before she’s being drug down the hallway. Panic fills her chest, and she pulls on her hand as hard as she can.

“Where are we going?”

Unfortunately, her question go unanswered. Finally, they arrive at the bathroom, and she’s roughly ushered inside. To her surprise, there are bandages sitting on the counter. Subaru shoves her toward the counter while he makes his way over to the tub. He sits on the rim and turns the knobs. The sound of rushing water fills the room. Subaru keeps his back to her, apparently busy adjusting the temperature of the water. Once he’s satisfied, he reaches down to stop the drain so the tub will fill and finally turns to Mai. His nose wrinkles a little. “You fucking stink.”

She gives him a frustrated glare but doesn’t respond. She knows she smells bad. He straightens his body and turns to face her with an expectant look. A hollow feeling settles in the pit of her stomach. He doesn’t really expect her to undress and bathe in front of him, does he? Despite fearing, and knowing the answer, she asks. “What do you want?”

He grunts softly and coldly snarls. “Strip.”

His answer doesn’t surprise her. Her face heats up in embarrassment, and she snaps back. “Like hell I will!”

He lets out a soft, dark chuckle and takes a couple of threatening steps toward her. “You fucking stink. It’s so bad that it’s making my eyes water. Besides, don’t flatter yourself. You have nothing worth seeing.”

“That’s not the point, Subaru,” Mai snaps back. She wraps her arms protectively around herself. “You can’t just ask a woman to strip right in front of you!”

“There’s a woman here?” Subaru practically sneers at her. Her mouth drops open, and she finds herself unable to respond to that. Thankfully, Subaru hasn’t advanced past the first few steps, but the look of impatience on his face is growing by the second.

“I… Tha.. I….” Mai stutters in utter shock. Finally, she manages to reign in her shock and shouts. “That was rude, you asshole!”

She blindly reaches back, grabbing the first thing her hand touches. It turns out that it’s a brush. She hurls it as hard as she possibly can directly at Subaru. It doesn’t come as a surprise that he easily catches it. He snaps, “Knock it off, bitch!”

“Go to hell!” She yells back. Her hand latches on some bandages this time, and she hurls those. She doesn’t give him a chance to respond this time. Instead, she reaches for something else. “How could you say something so cruel?!”

This time she throws a container of hand soap. Subaru doesn’t bother with catching this one. Instead, he side steps. His mouth opens to snap something back at her, but a loud crack and a groan halt both of them. Mai cautiously leans to the side to try to see what her makeshift weapon had hit. Subaru glances over his shoulder. Shock fills Mai’s chest when she sees her unfortunate target. Blood colors his damp blonde hair. He releases another groan and slips beneath the surface of the still running water. The seconds tick by, and neither Mai nor Subaru move to pull him out of the water. Finally, the water starts to slowly leak over the edge, so Subaru leans down to shut it off.

Mai awkwardly clears her throat and softly asks, “Should…. Should we pull him out?”

Subaru releases a scoff. “Hell no. Let him drown.”

Mai reluctantly turns her gaze to Subaru. They only remain there a moment before turning to look at Shuu’s slightly distorted image. Worry begins to gnaw at the edges of her heart. Finally, she finds herself making her way forward. “Will you help me get him out?”

Subaru makes another scoffing sound, but he doesn’t deny her. In fact, he moves to the top of the tub, so Mai finds herself at Shuu’s feet. Subaru’s eyes connect with hers, and he only gives her a nod as warning that he’s planning to pick his older brother up. She quickly plunges her hands into the scalding water and grabs his feet just as Subaru lifts. She pulls up on his feet, releasing a loud grunt. Every wound she has seems to cry out, and she finds herself still surprised at how heavy Shuu is. Subaru lets out a snarl and unceremoniously throws Shuu’s body to the side. Unfortunately, Mai isn’t ready for that, so she doesn’t release his legs in time. She finds herself being pulled down and scrambles to release him. Luckily, she doesn’t end up in a pile with Shuu. Unfortunately, her foot slides on the wet floor, and she finds herself sprawling out awkwardly on the bathroom floor. Thankfully, she wasn’t upright to begin with, so it doesn’t hurt.

It still doesn’t help her pride any when she hears Subaru laughing. She rolls onto her back, flinching when hot water seeps into her tattered clothing. For a moment, she feels emotionally and physically drained. The thought of a nice warm bed floats to the front of her mind.

She wrinkles her nose. She needed to take a shower first. A soft groan draws her attention back to the present. She turns her head to find Shuu is lying not far from her. While ignoring Subaru’s laughter, she slowly climbs to her feet and releases a soft groan of pain. Mai shuffles a little closer to Shuu and leans down to check on him. She feels someone’s head close to hers and cautiously lifts her eyes.

Subaru finally stopped laughing and is leaning over the opposite side of Shuu. His head is a good five or six inches away, and red eyes are locked onto his older brother. Mai turns her attention back down to the blonde vampire. She flinches when she sees blood coloring one side of his head, but she can’t see where it’s coming from. One blue eye slowly opens to meet hers, and he mutters. “So you like to take your victim while they are unconscious. Hm, pervert?”

He chuckles lightly. Mai rolls her eyes and doesn’t even bother dignifying his statement with a response. Subaru roughly nudges Shuu’s side with a foot. His voice is barely above a growl, though there is a hint of amusement to it. “What the hell are you doing?”

Shuu’s eye slides closed. “I heard the water and thought a warm bath sounded nice.”

Subaru grunts. “It wasn’t for you.”

Shuu doesn’t bother responding. In fact it looks like he’s dozed off again. Mai and Subaru share a look of frustration before Subaru plants a hard kick in Shuu’s ribs. A grunt leaves Shuu, and his eye opens once. Subaru leans closer to his brother’s face and snarls. “Move it, sloth. You’re in the way.”

“A nickname? Are you Ayato now?” Shuu teases lightly. Subaru jerks back, baring his fangs at his brother. Without warning, Subaru’s fist connects with the wall, releasing a loud shattering sound as the wall gives. Mai jumps and turns her gaze up to look at Subaru. He had teleported across the room.

“What did you call me?!” Subaru snaps loudly. His voice echoes off the walls. Shuu releases a sigh and slowly sits up.

“Not this again,” he mutters softly.

“Huh?!” Subaru loudly growls. Yet another fist smashes through the wall. A sharp voice cuts through the room.

“Subaru!”

Mai jumps and turns her attention in that direction to find a furious looking Reiji.

“Fuck off!” Subaru snaps, but he disappears only moments later. Reiji releases a sigh and crosses an arm over his abdomen while using the other to push up his glasses. His cold, red eyes open to give Mai an appraising look. She’s surprised to not find the usual disgust on his face when faced with Shuu. A simple glance down tells her why. Shuu also made his escape at some point. She lets herself carefully sink to her butt and releases a soft sigh. This means she’s going to be the one to face Reiji all alone. She silently curses both Shuu and Subaru. Unfortunately, she doesn’t manage to do it as much as she’d like since Reiji’s voice cuts through her thoughts.

“You were trying to use me as a fail safe when it came to that insufferable woman, were you not.” Despite it being phrased like a question, it’s clearly a statement, and he doesn’t bother waiting for a response. With a sigh, he coldly says, “You failed.”

He snaps his fingers, and a familiar seems to materialize from the wall. Mai watches Reiji mutter something to the familiar before cold red eyes turn back on her. She waits for him to say something, but he simply turns and leaves the room. The familiar stalks closer and appears to be a female. Mai decides not to put much thought into it. She takes the offered hand and allows the familiar to pull her to her feet. A sudden feeling of homesickness starts to overwhelm her, and she asks without a second thought. “Can I go home?”

A musical voice answers her. “I’m sorry, master’s guest. It’s not safe for you there. We already looked into it. The hunter is prowling around your house. We’d be killed, and you’d be stolen. The master needs you for his plan to work.”

Mai releases a soft sigh. She should’ve known she was going to be drug down even more. Suddenly feeling even more exhausted than before, she closes her eyes and allows the familiar to bear almost all of her weight.

She’s faintly aware of the fact that her ruined clothes are being removed, but she finds it impossible to care at the current moment. She opens her eyes just as she slides into the warm bath water. The warm water serves to wake her up, causing her to suddenly feel awkward. She tries her best to cover her body and glances at the familiar. To her horror, she finds nothing but smooth skin. There’s no mouth, nose or eyes. A jolt of fear races through every nerve in her body, and she finds herself scrambling away from the female familiar. A soft chuckle comes from her, though it has a sad hint to it.

“I won’t harm the master’s guests.”

Mai flinches. She can clearly hear the woman’s voice, but there’s something creepy about not watching someone’s mouth move.

“Uh…. Thanks?” She flinches at her own words, but she isn’t sure what else to say. It’s silent for a moment before the sound of water being gently splashed causes her to flinch away again. Harsher than she means to, Mai snaps. “What are you doing?”

“Ah… I’m washing the master’s guest,” the female familiar says in an unsure voice. Once again, a jolt of fear races through every cell in Mai’s body, and she quickly looks away.

“It’s…. It’s fine. I don’t need help,” Mai says as gently as she can. It’s silent for a few moments before the familiar softly replies.

“I’ve helped all the masters bathe at one time or another. I promise I won’t harm you.”

Mai flinches at the thought. Before she can stop herself, she blurts out. “Oh, you poor, poor girl.”

A musical chuckle leaves the woman, but Mai still can’t bare to turn to look at her. The water splashes once again, causing Mai to flinch. She isn’t a baby. She doesn’t need someone to bath her. Once again, she refuses, but she’s once again not listened to. After a few more times, she awkwardly gives in.

In an effort to not focus on how strange the situation is, she tries to think about something else. Unfortunately, her thoughts keep turning back to one simple fact.

It’s a stupid fact to be caught up on, but she can’t help it.

She sincerely hoped the familiar had thought to drain the water.

She cringes at the thought of sharing bathwater with Shuu, who was still wearing his clothes at the time. In fact, she’s sure he was still wearing his shoes. After all, he’s so lazy that she isn’t sure when the last time he changed his clothes was, since she hadn’t been harassing him to do so for school.

The thought causes her to close her eyes and silently pray that the bath was already over.


	29. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Long time no see! T.T I'm sorry this has taken me forever. I've had almost no free time lately! T.T I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and thank you for being so patient!

The bath is awkward to say the least. Despite her many protests, the faceless familiar is sure to wash every single inch of Mai’s body without a single shred of hesitation. It doesn’t seem to matter how physical Mai gets. The same thing is repeated to her over and over again. “Master’s guest, please be still. I promise I’m not trying to hurt you.”

The second the familiar seems satisfied she is clean, the plug is pulled. She’s never been so happy to be out of a bathtub in her life, and she rips away the large, fluffy towel that is presented to her. The last thing she wants is the familiar’s hands returning to the places she didn’t want them in the first place. Thankfully, this action isn’t protested.

Unfortunately, Mai’s luck doesn’t seem to be lasting. A second familiar materializes beside the first faceless one. Despite the mounting frustration and humiliation, Mai is relieved to find a face on this one. In fact, the new familiar looks to be in her late teens or early twenties. Long, curly strawberry-blonde hair frames a round face. Dark green eyes peek out from her downcast face. It’s startling to see such a pretty human-like girl in the house. Mai doesn’t bother finishing drying. Instead, she simply wraps the towel tightly around herself, though she’s sure whatever dignity she had is long gone by this point.

“Master Laito is requesting her,” the new familiar says in a barely audible, polite voice.

“It can’t be done,” the faceless familiar starts sternly. “I have orders, and clothes already prepared.”

Mai’s gaze shifts to the faceless’s stomach, since she doesn’t have the courage to look at the blank canvas that should sport a face. She’d been shopping with Laito before. She hated to admit it, but she trusted Laito’s judgement more than she did Reiji, or anyone else's for that matter. “Does Laito have clothes picked out for me? Can I see them before I put them on? Will you bring them to me?”

An awkward silence fills the room, and Mai’s heart starts to sink. That’s as good of a no as she’s going to get. After a few minutes, she finally mutters softly. “He’s… mad at me, isn’t he?”

The continued silence speaks volumes. Mai shifts her weight between her feet. The sting in her knee isn’t helping matters. Finally, Mai clears her throat and asks softly. “Is… Is the walk far?”

“I’m sorry,” comes the reply, causing Mai to flinch hard. She turns her eyes back on the new familiar. The girl hasn’t so much as moved a muscle. It’s eerie to watch, since she seems like a life-sized doll. Mai’s hair stands on end, and she finds that she suddenly prefers the faceless one. Even if she doesn’t have a face, she’s somewhat pleasant to talk to. Mai sucks in a small breath and forces her eyes to turn to look at the faceless one; this time in the area where the face should be.

“Well, I suppose you should lead the way,” Mai grits out after a few minutes of thought.

“But, Master La-”

“I don’t care what Laito wants,” Mai snaps. She flinches. It comes out harsher than she meant it to, but the thought of showing up at Laito’s room in nothing but a towel causes her to cringe. That’s basically asking for trouble. Her eyes turn to regard the new familiar. The girl’s face is pale, and her face appears to be terror stricken. In fact, she’s even shaking. A jolt of guilt runs through Mai’s stomach, and she awkwardly clears her throat. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. You were only doing your...job.”

The familiar begins to shake her head so hard that her hair lifts. Once she stops, her eyes lock onto Mai. In seconds, cold hands wrap around Mai’s upper arms. A look of primal panic takes over the girl’s face. Mai tries to pull back, but the familiar has surprising strength. Her words almost run together when she frantically says. “Please! You have to come to his room! Please! I’m begging you!”

“I…” Mai starts to say. She can’t help but feel guilty for her upcoming refusal, but the sight of the familiar being so terrified only cemented the fact that she should not go to Laito.

“Master’s guest has already chosen. She will be dressed in what the Master has set aside for her,” the musical voice sternly states. The girl opens her mouth to protest, but the faceless familiar is already peeling the girl’s hands off of Mai. Everything happens in a rush. Mai is practically dragged into the hallway, while the girl pleads as loud as she dares.

“Please! He won’t take no for an answer! Please he’ll hur-”

The girl is cut off when the faceless familiar slams the bathroom door shut. It echoes loudly down the hallway, much to Mai’s displeasure. She can still hear the girl wailing on the opposite side of the door, causing chills to race down her spine. To make matters worse, she can feel eyes on her. She pulls the towel tighter, but she doesn’t get a chance to ask what the girl was going to say. The faceless familiar’s already practically floating down the hallway without a sound. Mai shudders and rushes after. Once she catches up, her eyes glance behind her, hoping to catch sight of whoever is watching her.

It doesn’t come as a surprise when the hallway appears empty behind her. This isn’t the first time that she’s felt those eyes on her, and she knows it won’t be the last. She just isn’t sure who it is. She releases a shuddering sigh and keeps up with the silent familiar. Unfortunately, the eyes seem to be following her, making the trip feel like hours. Finally, they arrive at a faintly familiar door. One that she shudders at when the door opens.

It’s ‘her’ room. The familiar doesn’t hesitate to drift inside. Mai forces herself to follow after. Her hand reaches out to touch the door, but the lights seem to come on of their own accord. Allowing Mai to see that the faceless familiar had stopped beside the bed, drawing Mai’s gaze to what is laying near the foot of the bed. Her eyes widen, causing all thoughts of the eyes following her or shutting the door to leave her mind.

“Hell, no!” Mai says an octane higher than she meant to. She flinches at her own voice, but she quickly starts to shake her head. “I’m not wearing that!”

She can practically feel the frown over take the nonexistent face, even if she can’t actually see it. The familiar’s hand gestures in the direction of the outfit that has been carefully laid out on the bed. Her musical voice is full of confusion. “Master insisted you wear this to dinner.”

Mai eyes the dress that must have came out of the dark ages. It’s a single shade, and that shade is pitch black. It has a high collar. In fact, she is sure that it’d cover everything from her feet to her chin. The worst part is the corset lying beside the dress. It has so many laces that Mai isn’t sure how she’ll ever get it done up. Mai shakes her head stubbornly again. “Hell no.”

The familiar lifts the corset and says softly. “Master insis-”

“I know he insists, but that…” Mai makes a vague gesture at the corset. “...is nothing short of a torture device. Besides, I’ll… trip….”

Her blood runs cold. If he’s ‘insisting’ that she wear this, that can only mean one thing. She flinches. She knew she had gotten off easy despite using Reiji as a scapegoat. She turns her eyes toward the outfit once more. This is too much for such a petty reason though. She remembers learning that a lot of women back in those ages were known for having breathing problems due to their corsets being tied to tight, and she knew that is exactly what will happen in this situation.

Suddenly, Laito’s clothing choices are looking better. She casts her eyes over the horrible clothing once more. How is she going to get out of this? Thankfully, something comes to mind. After a moment of hesitation, she cautiously asks, “Where…. Where is the underwear?”

The faceless familiar tilts her head to the side. Mai can’t decide if it’s in confusion or in thought. Finally, the musical voice fills the silence between them. “I don’t...understand.”

Mai grits her teeth for a moment. How else can she explain it? It takes a moment to really think about it. She uses the time to glance around for some sort of visual prop. That’s when she notices the door is still wide open, though she does notice the feeling of being watched is long gone. She grips her towel tightly and turns to shut the door. The second the latch clicks into place. She hears a sigh behind her, causing her to jump. She spins around to meet a sight that has her heart sinking to the pit of her stomach.

The faceless familiar has retreated close to the bathroom door, while Laito is lying on his back at the foot of her bed. One leg is folded up beneath him, and the other hangs carelessly from the edge of the bed. He has a hand resting behind his head. Without warning, he twists his body until his laying on his side with his back to her. She assumes it’s to get a better look at the dress laying neatly beside him. His fingers reach out to almost gently run over the fabric. With his back to her, she can’t see his expression, which does little to calm her now racing heart.

It feels like the air in the room is alive with electricity. Tension strains every muscle in Mai’s body. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see the familiar carefully moving toward her. Mai wants to tear her gaze from Laito, but she can’t seem to do so. She’s not sure why though. Just as the familiar closes in on Mai, cold, green eyes snap around to fixate on the two of them. Mai jumps and retreats a step back. Her back presses against the cool door behind her.

She’s not sure why, but she feels a small measure of relief when Laito’s gaze slides to the faceless familiar. That relief is short lived with Laito’s cold words. “Leave.”

Mai’s gaze finally snaps to the familiar. While the familiar might not be much help, Mai can’t help but not want to be alone with Laito. She puts as much silent pleading as she can into her gaze, since her tongue feels like it’s made out of lead. Hope cautiously climbs when the familiar starts to shake her head.

“I can’t. I was asked by Master to dr-”

Laito makes a sound of irritation in the back of his throat. He’s on his feet before Mai has a chance to blink and seems to tower over the clearly frightened familiar. A dark look colors his face, causing Mai’s heart to skip a beat. Her eyes flick to the faceless familiar before sliding back. She doesn’t want to do anything that would warrant his attention to be drawn to her. She can practically feel anger rolling off Laito, and that frightens her more than she cared to admit.

Still, she can’t just stand by and watch someone else get hurt, human or otherwise. Before she can second guess herself, she reaches out to put a light hand on Laito’s arm. She opens her mouth to say something to distract him, but his eyes flick to her, effectively killing any words she had prepared.

She’d made a mistake.

A huge mistake.

She jerks her hand back, but it doesn’t get far. Laito’s cold hand closes around her wrist. Her heart leaps into her throat, and she violently shakes her hand. It has as much effect as she expects it to. Her eyes remain glued to his face.

Her back presses against the door even harder than before. The door feels cool against the exposed skin on her shoulders, upper back, and legs. She clenches the towel even tighter with her free hand, but her thoughts quickly turn from her discomfort to Laito. He leans until his face is inches from hers. His usual, playful smirk adorns his face, but it doesn’t reach his cold eyes. His teasing voice comes out barely above a whisper. “Sweetheart, I’m hurt. You didn’t come to see me.”

She clenches her jaw shut tightly. She has no idea how to respond to him. Any sort of answer seems like the wrong one. She has a sinking feeling that anything she says will only worsen the situation. Instead, she just focuses on trying to keep any emotion off her face. Laito’s chuckle brushes her face in a puff of cold air, and he gradually begins to lean even closer. His face inches closer to the point that his nose is almost brushing hers. His voice lowers a few octaves, seeming almost threatening. “Or do you want to really wear something Reiji chose for you?”

“I…” Mai starts. Her mouth feels so dry that she has to close her mouth and force herself to swallow. Her thoughts feel strangely silent. She’s not sure what to say, so she just says the first that finally comes to mind. “I don’t want to wear that stupid thing. I made a mistake and was just thinking about how I’d rather wear something you picked out.”

The smile slides from his face. In fact, all emotion seems to slide away, and he watches her with emotionless eyes. Finally, he releases a soft noise in the back of his throat, and his smirk appears. Thankfully, he leans back, and Mai feels air rush out of her.

That air hitches once more when cold fingers slowly trace the top of her chest, just above the hem of her towel. His voice sounds almost like he’s pouting. “You didn’t come to see me though.”

Mai swallows hard once more and decides to play along with his game. “I… I just wanted to get dressed quickly. After all, everyone is waiting for me at dinner by now.”

He gives her a pout and leans his body into hers. His knee suddenly presses into her thigh, and she involuntarily tenses her legs. He gives her a smirk that bares his fangs at her. She shudders but refuses to give into the mounting panic. She forces a smile onto her face and cautiously reaches out to put a hand on his chest. Keeping her voice as light as she can, she says. “I wanted to get dressed before I saw you. Then you could judge whether or not I was presentable. After all, I know that you know what looks good on me.”

He clicks his tongue, and a genuine smile spreads over his face. Strangely, it’s not one that puts her at ease. She realizes her mistake much too late when he says, “But you look so much better without clothes.”

She opens and closes her mouth a couple of times, not sure how to respond to that. Unfortunately, Laito isn’t keen on going easy on her. Without a moment’s hesitation, he leans forward. His cold tongue presses against the bottom of her throat and quickly works its’ way up to her jaw. She jerks her head back in surprise. Unfortunately, her head collides with the solid door, causing her to release a soft hiss of pain. Laito’s cold chuckle causes goosebumps to raise in the wake of his salvia. His lips press against her pulse, and she closes her eyes and leans as far away as possible. Unfortunately, this is just the lapse in concentration Laito seems to be waiting for. His leg wiggles between hers. She tightens her legs once more, but it’s much too late.

She releases a yelp when his knee collides hard with her pelvic bone, and she shoves on him as hard as she can. He rocks back for a moment, but it only lasts a second. His lips find her neck once more, and he gives a playful suck.

“Laito! Stop!” Mai states loudly. He pulls back just enough to chuckle. She catches a glint of his fangs once more. Cold terror settles in the pit of her stomach. She knew he had shown them on purpose. “Laito, please do-!”

She releases a sharp gasp when she feels his teeth sink into the flesh of her neck. She hates to admit it, but the feeling has changed so much since he had first bitten her. There is absolutely no pain this time. Instead, there is a frightening, yet intoxicating, feeling spreading through her body. Her fingertips begin to feel pleasantly warm, and her toes tingle. In fact, she’s sure that her entire body is starting to pleasantly tingle. She can feel her body relaxing, though her mind frantically cries out for her to not give in. Her eyelids suddenly becomes heavy, and she releases a soft moan.

Her thoughts are slowly becoming hazy. Finally, the only thing on her mind is the sound of Laito’s greedy gulping. She’s barely aware of the fact that he has moved location a couple of times. It’s not until his cold fingers touch the area just below her breast that she finally snaps back to reality. To her absolute horror, her head is leaned to the side, allowing him easy access. She can’t feel his fangs in her skin anymore, but he’s leaving light, butterfly kisses across her bare shoulder. His thumb brushes the skin along the bottom of her breast this time, sending a jolt of electricity through her body. She’s not sure when it happened, but her towel has become pooled around her feet. The soft fabric of his shirt brushes against her skin, making her painfully aware of the fact that her nipples had become hard.

She tightens her legs around his just when he moves it gently against her core. She bites back a startled moan when a pleasant jolt rushes through her veins. His hazy, green eyes suddenly appear only inches from her own. She inhales sharply, but she doesn’t get a chance to say anything. His lips crash roughly with hers, and she can feel the tender skin of her bottom lip catch on one of his fangs. She lets out a muffled whimper that is swallowed by his lips. She clenches her eyes shut, fully expecting to feel his tongue plunge into her mouth. The thought of tasting her own blood makes her feel queasy.

To her surprise, the opposite happens. Laito actually pulls away. She cautiously opens one eye. Laito’s face is still hovering so close that she can only see his eyes, which are fixated on her bottom lip. It almost looks as if he’s fascinated by the blood welling there. Without a second thought, Mai’s tongue darts out to try to clean her lip. She flinches at the metallic taste, feeling queasy like she thought she would. A rush of air draws her attention back to Laito. Without warning, he leans forward. His cold tongue traces along her lip before he pulls back, and his eyes lift to meet hers.

She’s startled by what she finds there. She expected playfulness or lust, both of which are present, but she finds something harder to describe. It almost seems like he’s about to cry.

Her fingers move without her permission. For a moment, she’s startled by how heavy her limbs are, but she finds it hard to focus on that. Her fingers softly touch the cold skin just below his eye. He flinches back a little before his eyes narrow at her. Her heart skips beat when his trademark, playful smirk quickly spreads over his face once again. It almost seems like the loneliness from before is a figment of her imagination. She’s so focused on trying to find that emotion that she jumps when his thumb lightly runs along her bottom lip, smearing her warm blood along her lip. Her breath hitches in her throat, and a shudder works it’s way through her body. A deep chuckle erupts from him. His fingers pull away from her lip, only to lightly run through her still damp hair.

“Do you have anything you want to say to me, Sweetheart?” Laito says in a soft, yet deep, voice. Confusion fills Mai’s entire being. She frowns for a moment. Her thoughts are still hazy, so she isn’t sure what he could be meaning.

She’s so lost in thought that she doesn’t see him leaning forward once more. She doesn’t even notice until his lips touch hers once more. She closes her eyes, fully expecting it to be another rough kiss like before.

She couldn’t have been more right. The hand in her hair reaches the end only to plunge back into the hair near the base of her skull. Just as the rough feeling of his pants rubs painfully along her core, his hand balls tightly in her hair, jerking her head away from his. An arm wraps around her waist, pulling her from the door. She releases a startled cry of pain when he continues to pull her head back until she is awkwardly arched into him on her tippy toes. In fact, she’s so far back that she knows that she won’t be able to keep her balance if Laito decides to let go. Every muscle in her body tenses, and her now watery eyes close tightly.

“La-Laito!” She practically begs. She shudders violently when she feels his cold chuckle against the top part of one of her breasts. Her eyes fly open at the sensation. Her mind becomes blank when she feels his lips brush her bare skin just above her hammering heart. There is no way he can’t hear it, since he’s so close. She sucks in a sharp breath when his fangs brush her skin. She finds no sense of relief when his lips brush her skin once more. Her whole body begins to shake uncontrollably.

Is she going to die?

This isn’t the first time the thought has crossed her mind. A whimper leaves her throat as fear coats her mouth in a nasty taste. This is the first time she feels deep in her gut that she’s about to find the end of her life at the hands of someone she has some sort of feeling for. His fangs brush the skin over her heart once more. Her thoughts race wildly. She doesn’t want to die yet!

That thought keeps running through her mind like some sort of prayer. A sour taste fills her mouth. It feels like she can actually choke on the fear that is coursing through her body. She needs to do something, and she needs to do it before it’s too late. She hears him mutter something against her skin. She’s not sure what he says, but she can hear pain coloring his voice. It causes a sharp pain deep in her heart. That’s when an idea occurs to her.

If he’s in pain, maybe she can comfort him.

She finds that her hands had become balled in shoulders of his clothes, which would work perfectly for her plan. She has to force one hand to slowly release his clothing. Making sure to keep her it lightly touching him, she begins to trace his shoulder with just her fingertips. The moment her warm fingers touch his cold neck, she feels him tense against her body. She swallows hard, flinching at the pain it causes her. Without missing a beat, she gently works her way up his neck until something soft brushes her fingers. Her body continues to shake against him, but she focuses on gently running her fingers through his hair. She opens her mouth to say ‘it’s ok’, but she decides to bite her tongue instead. It feels as if a spell has fallen over them. He jerks hard on her hair, as if to warn her against continuing, and a sharp gasp leaves her mouth. It feels like her neck is about to break at this point, but she continues to move her fingers through his hair.

After what feels like an eternity passes, his grip in her hair slowly loosens. She’s finally able to straighten a little more. The feeling of danger slowly passes, and she’s able to open her eyes a little. Warm tears had escaped at some point, but all that’s left is cold trails of water, which lead into her hair. Her fingers move a little to a new area that she can now reach. She both hears and feels the groan leaving Laito due to the fact that he had laid his head against her chest. He pulls her painfully tight, causing her to groan softly in protest. Unfortunately, it falls on deaf ears. His voice is so soft that she almost misses it.

“I love you.” She frowns a little when a sinking feeling threatens to take over. She has a feeling that he isn’t talking to her. It’s almost like he’s talking to himself, or even someone who isn’t actually there.

Time seems to slip by a lot faster after that. She’s not sure how long they remain with his head resting on her chest while she runs her fingers through his hair, but it comes to an end just as quickly as it started. He pulls completely away from her, leaving her to rock back onto her heels. The second she no longer has his support, she finds it impossible to remain standing. It feels like weights are tied to each of her limbs. Embarrassment at how naked she is helps to make her drop to her knees. She awkwardly gathers up the towel and tries to wrap herself in it once more. She hears a chuckle once she is done and turns her attention upward. Laito is staring down at her with his usual lust filled eyes. A smirk that can only be described as perverted adorns his face. He tilts his head to the side a little, which almost gives him an innocent appearance. Unfortunately, the illusion is ruined seconds later when he says. “You look so good on your knees.”

Her face becomes a bright red, and she settles a cold glare on him. Unfortunately, he seems to have become immune to such things. He squats down in front of her with a soft chuckle. She tenses, wondering if he plans to touch her again. She finds a small measure of relief when he seems to be keeping his hands to himself. He rests an elbow on his knee, while he uses his hand to prop his head up. His eyes slide lazily over her body, making her blush return. Without returning his gaze to her face, he asks, “Isn’t there something you want to tell me?”

She frowns at the repeated question, and her thoughts race for a moment before it occurs to her what he wants her to tell him. He had previously said ‘I love you’. Is he seriously expecting her to answer him back after everything he has done so far? She grits her teeth for a moment to calm her anger before fixating him with a cool look of disinterest. “I’m not going to tell you that I love you, if that’s what you’re after.”

His gaze slowly lifts to meet hers. Instead of anger, she’s unpleasantly surprised to find amusement. Without warning, his face is inches from hers. She jerks back to find that he had rocked forward to end up on all fours. She scrambles back until she is pressed against the door once again. He continues to follow her on all fours until she stupidly pins herself. His smirk only seems to grow, though there is a dark, sharp edge in his eyes. His cold breath brushes her face when he says. “I recall you saying something in that nauseating place. Something that you should have never spoken.”

Her thoughts race wildly. What nauseating place?

With a jolt she realizes that he must have been talking about Yui’s church. A few seconds later, she finds herself still unable to locate exactly what he’s talking about. She had said so much in anger that it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what he’s referring to. Cold finger begin to trace her jaw, drawing her back to the present. Her gaze locks with Laito’s, who is giving her an amused smirk. His voice is barely audible. “I told you before, didn’t I?”

“Huh?” Mai stupidly asks. She still can’t figure out what he’s getting at. He leans forward, and she tenses. Is he going to kiss her again?

Thankfully, he stops just short of kissing her, but his next words make her blood turn to ice. “You said you’d rather have Shuu than me.”

His voice is light, almost like he’s making a joke, but the sense of danger is very, very real, and it threatens to overwhelm her very being. It only mounts further, and her breath hitches when his smile grows even colder. “Is that true?”

She finds herself at a loss about what to say. She opens and closes her mouth a few times, but her body stubbornly refuses to make a sound. Finally, she makes an odd whimpering noise. She flinches in pure, horror filled embarrassment. Thankfully, it seems to convince Laito to back off, since he gives her a confused look before pulling away. He rocks back onto his heels and gives her a frown. Her gaze drops to the towel.

Did she always need to make a fool of herself? Especially in front of Laito of all people. 

Her body jerks as soon as that thoughtfully processes. Her hands ball up in the towel, and she stubbornly tells herself that it’s because Laito is the type to tease her mercilessly at any sign of weakness. There is no other reason.

Her stomach feels like it falls to the floor. She knows she’s lying to herself. An imaginative weight feels like it’s starting to crush her.

Cold fingers brush just below her chin before lightly pressing upwards, and she doesn’t bother resisting. Instead, she allows Laito to lift her face until her eyes meet his. His green eyes seem to glow, but they aren’t the eerie color they gain when he gets hungry. Instead, they glow with amusement, as if he knows something she doesn’t. The thought bothers her more than she cares to admit. He leans so far forward that his nose brushes the tip of her own, and he playfully says, “I don’t think you prefer Shuu.”

She doesn’t bother responding to that, though she does feel a soft surge of defiance well up in her chest. Unfortunately, their conversation comes to an end when a sharp knock on the door causes her to jump. Her shaking hands fumble to keep the towel closed.

“It’s time to eat, Mai,” comes Reiji’s muffled voice. There is a sharp tone to it, causing a jolt of fear to cut through her muddled thoughts.

“A...Alright!” Mai calls back. She scrambles to her feet and glances at the dress laid out on the bed. She’s faintly aware of Reiji saying she only has five minutes to report to the hall, or she’ll be punished. Laito’s chuckle draws her attention back down to him. His green eyes peer up at her from his squatted position. A teasing smirk adorns his face. Feeling her face flush, she coldly demands. “Please leave, so I can get dressed.”

Her blush deepens when she remembers the faceless familiar. Had they been observed? Her gaze drifts over the room, but she can’t seem find the woman at all. A mixture of relief and frustration fill her. Her face burns at the thought of being seen kissing Laito like she was, but she isn’t sure how she’s going to get dressed now.

Her eyes turn back to the dress with a frown. She carefully steps around Laito, trying not to allow him to see up her towel, and approaches the bed. The closer she gets, the more her nose wrinkles. There is no way that she wants to get dressed in that, but time is running out. She doesn’t have much of a choice anyway if she wants to avoid dealing with an angry Reiji.

“I have something much more comfortable for you,” Laito states softly. Mai glances over her shoulder to see he has straightened himself up to a standing position. He gives a light stretch before releasing a soft groan. Impatience starts to take over, and she finds herself snapping.

“What do you have?”

He gives her an amused grin. He slowly lifts his hand toward her, and she recoils back, causing his smirk to only grow. He tilts his head to the side, almost giving him an innocent appearance once more. His voice is barely audible. “Do you have time to run from me? We only have a few minutes, if that.”

He leaves his hand extended toward her. After a few seconds of hesitation, Mai snarls softly to herself and reaches out to take the offer. The second her warm hand touches his cold one, his fingers seal over her hand.

A sick feeling fills her stomach when she realizes that she’s now standing in his room. She rips her hand away from him and cradles it to her chest. Her eyes quickly flick around her. The sick feeling continues to grow when she realizes she hadn’t felt the nausea inducing spinning like she use to. In fact, she hadn’t felt anything. A cold sweat breaks out over her skin. A puff of air on her neck causes a shudder to race down her spine, but it doesn’t pull her from her worries over the missing sensation.

She’s faintly aware of cold fingers prodding her back, along with a low, husky voice giving her directions. She numbly follows Laito’s instructions without a second thought.

Does this mean she’s becoming like Yui?

Is she losing her humanity?

That thought is enough to cause warm tears to well up and roll down her cheeks without warning.

She doesn’t want to become like Yui. She doesn’t want to leave their world behind. She wants to live with her parents. She wants to see the world, and she wants to find love. She even wanted to have a family some day. She tries to clear the lump in her throat, but she makes a choked sound instead.

Curious green eyes fill her watery vision, causing her to flinch back a couple of steps. Laito tilts his head a little, looking genuinely confused. Mai releases a choked chuckle, though she’s not sure why she does. Latio flashes her an amused grin and straightens himself. Without warning, his hand is delves into her hair, keeping her firmly in place. Her body instinctively jerks when his face is only inches from her own. For a heart stopping second, she thinks he’s going to reach out and either wipe or lick away her tears.

“What are you crying for, Sweetheart?” Laito practically purrs. She finds herself at a loss for what to say. There’s no way that she’s going to tell him that she’s afraid that she’s becoming like him. She’s almost positive that he’ll take that as insult, and she’s not sure she can handle any more of his rough handling at the moment. She sucks in a sharp breath and decides to hold it. She puts all her strength into fighting the tears instead of answering. Laito’s eyes narrow in amusement before flicking downward. She instinctively wraps her arms around herself. His gaze lifts to meet hers, and he leans forward until his nose brushes hers. His voice is still a purr when he says, “I’ve seen every part of you multiple times, love. There’s no need to be embarrassed.”

That is just what Mai needs to refocus her thoughts. She rolls her eyes and lifts her hands to push him away. To her surprise, he doesn’t allow her to simply shove him away like he normally does. She puts more strength into it this time. A sharp pain in the base of her skull lets her know that he had rewarded her efforts with a sharp pull of her hair. She bites back the whimper and gives him her best defiant look, but it’s ruined by the tears forming in the corner of her eyes again. Laito’s laughter cuts through the silence between them, and Mai has to resist the urge to bring her knee up between his legs. Unfortunately, she isn’t able to stop herself from slamming her foot down on his as hard as she can. His laughter changes to a hiss of pain. His eyes snap back to hers, and a rare frown adorns his face. The scariest part isn’t the look of frustration on his face. It’s the empty look in his eyes.

Her heart skips a few beats and sinks to the pit of her stomach. She opens her mouth to say something, anything, but all she manages is softly uttering his name.

The look of frustration is quickly wiped from his face at the sound of his breathless name leaving her lips, but the empty look remains. Without another word, she finds herself standing in the dining room. A rough shove sends her scrambling sideways. Her hands reach out to the chair in front of her, jostling not only the occupant in the chair, but the table as well.

“Watch it!” Subaru snaps. Mai leans awkwardly against his chair. Her eyes reluctantly lift to meet his angry red ones. For a brief moment, she sees surprise flash though his eyes, but her attention is pulled away when she hears a sigh. She quickly scrambles into the empty chair beside Subaru. Her cheeks turn a bright red, and she glances down at her clothes.

She knew she should feel disgusted that they had been changed without her consent, but she finds herself relieved to find that Laito had dressed her in a t-shirt and loose shorts. Her eyes lock with the table, but the feeling of being watched causes her to lift her gaze up. That’s when she notices a couple of things.

The table is much smaller than the usual one. In fact, she can almost brush her elbows with the brothers on either side of her. She casts a glance to her left to find Subaru with his eyes closed and a look of irritation on his face. Her gaze shifts to the right to find Shuu sitting on the opposite side of her.

The seating arrangements seem to have been changed. Across from Shuu, Reiji is sitting with his red eyes boring into her, though she can’t tell if he’s angry or not. She offers a small smile, but it only deepens his frown. She quickly turns her gaze away from him to the person directly across from her. Her eyes only lock with amused green ones for a moment before she looks to Laito’s right. To her absolute surprise, she finds Kanato staring blankly down at his empty plate. The most surprising fact is that Teddy is nowhere in sight. She glances at the end of the table to find a furious looking Ayato sitting at what is normally Shuu’s place at the ‘head’ of the table. His green eyes stare hatefully across from him. She turns her attention in that direction to find the space empty, but she has a sinking feeling that she knows who will be sitting there soon.

Her body jerks when there is a loud banging behind her. Mai glances over her shoulder to find her heart sinking all the way to the floor. The Yui imposter gracefully makes her way over to the table. As she passes him, her fingers run lightly along one of Shuu’s shoulders. Out of the corner of her eye, Mai can see Shuu’s usually serene face twist for a moment before smoothing back out as if nothing had happened. Cordelia sits down while clapping. The food seems to appear on the table.

The sound of silverware being picked up echos through the otherwise silent dining room. Mai turns her gaze to the food, but she finds that the aroma only turns her stomach. She swallows hard, trying to rid herself of the lump forming in her throat.

“Mai, my dear,” Cordelia’s voice suddenly breaks the tension. Mai’s gaze lifts to meet Cordelia’s chilly green one. “Is this how normal human dinners are?”

Mai’s mouth suddenly feels like it’s coated in sandpaper. She turns her gaze to her empty plate in order to take a moment to really consider her next words. Finally, she clears her throat and reaches out to take the glass of water in front of her plate. She takes a sip before cautiously saying. “I… I suppose so.”

Cordelia releases a soft chuckle. “Is that so?”

Mai reluctantly turns her eyes toward what was once her friend. Cordelia is resting her elbows on the table with her fingers interlocked. Mai barely resists the urge to glance at Reiji. Cordelia leans forward just a little. An unidentifiable smirk spreads over her face, and her voice contains unrestrained amusement. “Is this how your family does dinner?”

Mai scrambles to say something. “Umm….”

Silence fills the room. There isn’t even the sound of eating. Mai casts a quick glance around. Reiji is staring at his plate. Laito has an elbow on the table, while resting his cheek against his knuckles. His eyes are locked with her, though he does actually have a hold of a eating utensil. Her eyes shift to lock with Kanato’s blank purple gaze. A shudder runs down her spine, and she moves on. Ayato is continuing to glare down the table at his ‘mother’. Subaru still has his arms crossed with an annoyed look on his face. It doesn’t come as a surprise to find Shuu is slouched down a little, while the food on his plate remains untouched. Mai’s gaze arrives back at Cordelia, who has continued watching Mai the entire time with clear amusement coloring her face. After a few more minutes of tense silence, Mai finally mutters a soft. “No.”

Cordelia claps her hands once more and releases a nerve wrecking giggle. “Let’s start with everyone’s day! Anyone want to volunteer?”

Silence is her only answer. Unfortunately, she doesn’t allow that to deter her. Her eyes flick from Mai to the person sitting beside her. A cruel smile spreads over her face. With a casual tone, Cordelia asks. “So, Christa’s boy. How is your mother?”

Subaru’s fist lands hard on the table, rattling everything. A couple of glasses tip over, but no one moves to right them. Subaru’s red eyes lock onto Cordelia’s amused ones. His voice comes out loudly. “Shut the fuck up! Don’t you dare say her name!”

Mai quickly leans in between the two to intervene by saying. “So, Cordelia, why are you eating with us?”

She can practically hear Subaru seething behind her, and she casts a cautious glance over her shoulder. Subaru’s red gaze locks with hers. She tries to offer him an apologetic smile, but it seems lost on the furious vampire. He snarls at her, throws his weight back against the chair and reassumes his previous position of glaring at the food with his arms crossed over his chest. To Mai’s surprise, she finds pity welling up in the pit of her stomach. Cordelia’s voice draws Mai’s attention back to the present. “Isn’t this what my dear husband commanded of his children?”

 

Mai leans back and reaches out to right her glass before picking up an eating utensil to begin picking at her food. She clears her throat and says, “I’m aware that he calls his children together once a month, but that doesn’t explain why it’s today. I thought it wasn’t for a few more days.”

Just as she finishes her speech, she feels something brush her foot, causing her to jump. She barely resists the urge to look under the table in order to figure out what touched her. She moves her feet a little closer to Subaru’s side in order to keep whoever was accidently touching her from doing it again. Unfortunately, that’s when Cordelia decides to start talking again. “Isn’t this fun?”

Mai frowns at her. She jumps when something cold brushes just below her knee, almost tracing the shape of her calf. Her gaze snaps across the table to find that Laito’s attention has been returned to his food. Her heart leaps into her throat.

“Mai, my dear. I’m talking to you. Don’t you think you are being a little rude?” Cordelia softly chides, almost sounding like a mother. Mai reluctantly turns her gaze from the red haired vampire.

“No,” Mai states bluntly before she realizes what she had said. The only one who laughs is Laito. Mai flinches and clears her throat before saying. “I just… I don’t see the point in me being here. I’m sorry.”

“Aren’t you almost family?”

That sends chills down Mai’s spine. Her gaze snaps back to find Cordelia watching her with an amused, almost knowing look. With a hitched breath, Mai finds her thoughts racing. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get long to dwell on it, since something brushes her clothed core. Her body jerks so roughly that her knees hit the bottom of the table. Her gaze snaps toward Laito, and she hisses, “Stop it!”

“What?” Laito asks her with a sort of playful innocence that only he can manage in such a situation.

“Now, now, my dear. You’re being very rude,” Cordelia states, though she sounds anything but upset. Mai jerks again when that same something brushes her core. With mounting embarrassment, she realizes that it’s likely Laito’s foot. Heat rushes to her face, and she reaches underneath the table, only to come up empty handed. Cordelia releases a sigh, but it sounds far from frustrated. “Please keep your hands above the table, dear. It’s very rude to your hosts to behave in such a barbaric manner.”

Mai casts a frustrated glance at Cordelia, but she doesn’t get a chance to say anything. A sharp gasp is ripped from her mouth when the foot presses once more. Mai can’t squash the feeling of embarrassment at having six pairs of eyes now on her. She can feel her entire face flushing. Her hand latches onto Shuu’s forearm, much tighter than she intends. His blue eyes finally open and lift to meet hers. She shuffles closer to him and whispers directly into his ear. “Switch me seats.”

To her utter frustration, he scoffs softly. The shadow of a smile tugs at his lips before his eyes start to close once more, and he mutters. “Deal with it.”

Mai clenches his arm even tighter, going so far as to start digging her nails into his shirt, and hisses, “Shuu!”

She lets out a yelp when Laito’s foot brushes her core once more. Desperation fills her entire body, and she yanks hard on Shuu’s arm, earning a grunt from the lazy vampire. Without warning, she finds a painful grip around her upper arm, and she’s awkwardly hauled to her feet. Her gaze snaps around to meet Subaru’s frustrated glare. With a flick of his wrist, she slips between him and the table to crash into his chair, almost missing completely. She somehow manages to grab the edge of the table to keep from tumbling onto the floor. Once she is righted, she glances toward Subaru, who had seated himself in her now vacant chair, with a new appreciation for the rough vampire. As much as she wants to thank him right then and there, she decides it might be better to hold off for now. After all, she doesn’t think he’d appreciate any more unwanted attention.

Her thoughts are pulled back to the present by Cordelia’s pouting voice. “I put a lot of thought into the sitting arrangements. You can’t just change them up on a whim.”

Mai turns a glare on Cordelia, but she bites back any response that comes to mind. It won’t help the situation at hand, so there’s no point in wasting the energy. Once again, the room descends into silence. Mai glances down at Subaru’s plate to find it completely untouched. Without warning, Subaru’s fist lands between his and Shuu’s plate, followed by a loud, resounding crack.

“Keep your disgusting feet on your side of the table, pervert!”

“Subaru!” Reiji snaps, but he’s promptly ignored by Laito stating cooly.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, little brother.”

“Don’t call me that! You’re far from an older brother!” Subaru snarls at the red haired vampire, who laughs in response. Mai’s gaze flicks between them for a moment before Subaru leaps to his feet. He leans threateningly over the table, planting both hands firmly on either side of his new plate. “I said not to touch me, freak!”

Laito offers the furious Subaru a playful grin and states. “Perhaps if you hadn’t accused me in the first place.”

Subaru releases a loud sound of frustration. Once again, Reiji tries to calm the situation. “Subaru, enough. Remember your manners.”

“Fuck manners! This is bullshit!” Subaru snaps.

“Enough,” Reiji states in an almost patient voice. “Eat your dinner.”

Subaru’s eyes continue to glare at the red haired brother across from him. Without a moment of hesitation, Subaru lifts one of his hands off the table. Only seconds later, that hand collides with the plate directly in front of him. It collides with the one directly in front of Mai, shattering on impact. Without a chance to react, Mai and Kanato find themselves showered with broken pieces of ceramic and food. Unfortunately, the disaster doesn’t stop there. The plate in front of Mai clips Ayato’s on the way off the table, effectively shoving the plate full of picked at food into Ayato’s lap. Mai is on her feet in seconds brushing the food and pieces of plate from her body. She’s faintly aware of Reiji snapping at Subaru to return to his room at once. Ayato’s on his feet with a look of pure disgust on his face, while he mimics Mai’s movements.

A sigh draws Mai’s attention toward Cordelia once more. To Mai’s utter frustration, the vampire has the audacity to look hurt. In fact, Mai can see tears swelling at the corner of her eyes. Cordelia lifts a hand to wipe away her ‘tears’. Her voice comes out almost choked. “I just wanted to catch up with all my wonderful children and those in their lives.”

A sound of disgust leaves Ayato, and he speaks for the first time. “Get lost, hag. No one wants you here.”

Without another word, he spins on his heel and leaves. Mai glances around the room. Reiji’s hand is resting against his forehead, and he has a troubled look on his face. Kanato hasn’t moved a muscle. In fact, he hasn’t even bothered to brush the food out of his hair. Shuu is nowhere to be seen. Mai swallows hard and considers staying to help Kanato clean himself off. The thought sends a shudder down her spine, and she decides against it. She turns to hurry after Ayato without looking back. 

Worry gnaws at her stomach. She hasn’t had much of a chance to talk to him since this whole thing started. Thankfully, it doesn't take her long to find him. In fact, he’s in one of the game rooms, angrily throwing darts at the dart board. Every single one is within the two center circles. Mai slowly makes her way over to the pool table and lightly runs her hand over the velvet. After a few minutes of silence, she finally asks, “Are you ok, Ayato?”

He grunts and snaps. “Do you even care?”

Mai answers without a second thought. “Of course I do.”

She slowly lifts her gaze to see his reaction. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise to find that he is observing her with a cold glare. She tries to offer him a smile, but it fails miserably by coming off as more of a grimace than anything else. Her gaze drops to the pool table once more. She tries to figure out how to explain her answer when she hears him mutter something that sounds strangely like ‘I miss her’. Mai’s gaze lifts to stare at his back. For a moment, she thinks about calling him on it, but she decides against it. It’ll be a waste of time, since he’ll only deny it. She glances back down at the table. Her fingers brush over the velvet once more. It has been so long since she played pool, and she finds herself wondering how much she actually retained. “Hey, Ayato?”

“What?” His word is punctuated by a rather hard thud. Mai feels a smile tug at the corners of her mouth.

“Want to play pool?” She sets about trying to find everything for the game.

“Hell no. Go find Laito. He likes that boring game,” he snarls at her. Another hard thunk is followed by stomping footsteps shortly afterwards. Mai casts a glance in his direction to find him violently ripping the darts out of the board before spinning and returning to his original position. She turns her attention back on the pool table.

“I miss Yui. She’s such a kind girl,” Mai says softly, silently hoping to elicit something other than anger from him. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work out like she planned.

“She’s stupid, not kind. Such a stupid…” Thunk! “....airhead. She let that bitch take over without putting up a fight. What is the point in missing some dumb bitch like that? It’s a waste of time.” Thunk!

Mai glances at him out of the corner of her eye. Her sense of worry gnaws even worse than before. A frown slowly overtakes the smile, and she finds herself leaning her hip against the edge of the table and staring at the velvet below her. “She loves you. I think she misses you a lot.”

Ayato releases a snort, but Mai just brushes it away with a flick of her hand. “I don’t want her to disappear forever.”

Her eyes well up with tears. She opens her mouth to continue, but her voice comes out as a hoarse croak. She snaps her mouth shut and clears her throat before trying again. “Ayato, I’m scared.”

She closes her eyes as every overwhelming emotion threatens to drown her all at once. Warm, wet trails start to make their way down her face. She knew she was scared, but she didn’t know she was this scared. She lifts her hands up to cover her face. “I’m scared. I don’t… I don’t know what to do. Yui’s gone, and she was the only one I felt I could really, really trust.”

She’s not sure why, but it all comes gushing out at once. She releases a sob and continues breathlessly. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know any of you well enough to feel safe talking to you. It wouldn’t matter anyway. None of you give a damn about anyone but yourselves. I don’t know what to do! I miss having someone who understood the pain of dealing with you all. I’m scared because Laito has changed, and the last time he changed like this he… he… he….”

Her mouth goes dry and an overwhelming feeling of pure terror takes over. It’s a raw, animal like fear. One that kicks in when one’s very life is danger. Her breath hitches, and the world starts to spin. Her hand reaches out to connect with something soft and hard. She leans awkwardly against the pool table. Her breath comes out in awkward pants. “I can’t… I can’t… I’m so afraid of Laito.”

That’s when it hits her, and the feeling of guilt just piles onto all of the other emotions. She’s more afraid of being left alone with Laito and his brothers than she is about losing Yui. A sick feeling spreads through her stomach. What is wrong with her? A better question comes to mind.

How did Yui deal with all of them alone for so long?

Her legs begin to shake even harder than before. She forces her gaze to lift to look at Ayato, only to instantly regret it. Her eyes meet the same color of green, only they don’t show an emptiness she has become accustom to seeing. It’s a mixture of disgust and irritation.

It still doesn’t stop the panic from overwhelming her. All she can think about is the similarities between Laito’s behavior at the present time and the night at the lake. The pain and humiliation surface once again. She stumbles back a step. She knows she’s looking at Ayato, but all she can see is Laito’s cold expression from that night. She forcibly shakes her head in a vain attempt to get rid of those horrible thoughts. She silently tells herself that she has dealt with it, but she knows deep down that she truly hasn’t. She had pushed it to the deep recesses of her mind, and she’s paying for it now.

“I…. I need to…..”

She can’t even finish the words. Bile rises up her throat, and she spins on her heel to quickly stumble out of the room. The minute the door shuts behind her, she sprints down the hallway toward the front door. Her panic raises even higher when she realizes that she no longer feels lost when it comes to navigating the mansion. Cordelia’s mention of her almost being family comes back, causing her to increase her desperate run.

She doesn’t stop to consider why the heavy front door is open. She just sprints out of it and takes the stairs three at a time. The minute she’s on the ground she continues her desperate headlong run down the driveway. 

It all passes by in a blur, but she’s out of the gates and rushing down the long, deserted road that leads to the mansion. At this point, her lungs are beginning to burn, and her legs are starting to feel numb. She tries to force herself to keep going, but her foot catches something in the road. Her body pitches forward, and she sticks her hands out to brace herself. She lets out a cry of pain when her hands scrape along the gravel, and pain races up both of her arms. That’s when she realizes a couple of things.

The first being that her hips are raised due to the fact that she’s laying over something very large. Warmth has begun seeping into her clothing, though it’s quickly turning cold and sticky. She awkwardly starts to scramble to her knees, but her hands brush something soft, causing her to recoil. That’s when she realizes yet another, even chillier thing. She can smell blood, and she doesn’t think her hands are bleeding enough to pollute the air with such a strong smell. In fact, she can practically taste it on the tip of her tongue. She scoots as far away from the source as possible. Unfortunately, she’s only able to identify it as some sort of large animal lying in the road. Her heart hammers wildly against her chest, and time seems to slow down when she hears something that she never thought she’d hear in person.

A wolf howling in the distance, followed by one much, much, much closer. In fact, it’s too close for comfort. She hears rustling only feet away from her, and she snaps her gaze in that direction. A cold sweat breaks out over her skin. She has walked this path before, but she doesn’t remember feeling this afraid. She certainly doesn’t remember there being wolves in this area. Fear paralyzes her for only a moment before another howl rips through the air, causing her flight instinct to kick in. She leaps to her feet and spins in the opposite direction of the howl. Despite fear finally getting her moving, it also clouds her mind, and she plunges headlong into the undergrowth.

She’s not sure how long she runs for, but her body has long since gone numb. She stumbles over unseen obstacles more than she stays on her feet. Everytime she tries to grab a tree or touches the ground with either hand, pain races up her arms. Finally, her body gives out, and she collapses onto the forest floor. Tiredness starts to overwhelm her body, and she wonders if it wouldn’t be better to just pass out from exhaustion before the wolves got to her. Just as she choses to close her eyes, she hears a soft voice calling out to her.

“Mai?”

She tries to open her eyes. She really does, but her body doesn’t cooperate with her. Instead, she releases a shuddering breath. Once again, she hears her name being called followed by an unfamiliar scent.

Her body moves without her permission, causing a gasp of pain to leave her body. She suspects it has something to do with the foot that roughly rolls her onto her back. Her head lulls to the side, and she releases a loud groan. A melodious laugh reaches her ears, and every nerve is set on end. Unfortunately, her body doesn’t even try to respond. Something cold brushes her face only seconds before she finds herself being lifted off the ground. She’s finally able to barely open an eye to find herself laying limp in Ritcher’s arms. Cordelia’s voice reaches her ears. “Poor thing. It might’ve been better to get eaten, but that wouldn’t be fun for me.”

She’s very faintly aware of slender fingers roughly raking through her hair. “Besides, there must be something about her that is holding that terrible man’s interest.”

“Mai! Please wake up!’ A familiar voice faintly calls out to Mai, but the words just aren’t making sense, so she brushes the warning aside.

She feels a cold breath on the skin of her cheek, but she can’t get her eyes to stray from Ritcher’s face for some reason. Suddenly, his eyes shift to look down at her. Her mind wavers, and she tries to give into the sweet warmth of unconsciousness. Unfortunately, a faintly familiar voice won’t allow her too.

“No! You can’t go to sleep! Please! Please! Don’t sleep! Wake up, Mai! You’re in danger!”

Mai’s lips move, but no sound comes out.

“Yui, help me.”

She watches Ritcher’s eyes narrow for a moment, as if he heard the silent conversation. Thankfully, his gaze is pulled away. Thanks to that, Mai’s brain is finally able to focus a little. The sound of Cordelia’s laugh reaches her ears once more, but she finds herself unable to care.

“I can’t help you! I’m so sorry! Please, Mai! Scream! Call out for one of the brothers! Please! Do something! Anything! Just don’t go to sleep!”

“But I’m so tired.” Mai isn’t sure if she’s talking to herself with that statement or the imaginary Yui. Either way, she can’t find itself in herself to fight anymore. She’s not even alarmed over the fact that she has completely given up.

“Do you think it has to do with blood quality?” Cordelia asks, almost sounding like the young girl she is inhabiting.

“I don’t think so. Those brats haven’t mentioned anything about it. I’ve only ever heard about that girl,” Ritcher rumbles back. Mai feels her body shifting, and her head lulls the opposite way. She’s no longer able to look up at Ritcher, but she does feel a cold finger trace the large vein in her neck. Usually, she’d shudder, but she finds herself numb and uncaring. Once again, she hears Yui’s alarmed voice calling out in her head, but the words are jumbled and incoherent.

“I’ll see for myself,” Cordelia states. Somewhere deep in Mai’s mind, an alarm bell goes off.

She feels herself being jerked, and bile rises up for just a moment before she returns to feeling numb. She hears Ritcher’s voice through his chest rather than the normal way. “No.”

“Hm?” Cordelia sounds slightly surprised. “What’s the meaning of this?”

It happens so quickly that Mai’s muffled brain isn’t able to keep up. She finds herself draped over one arm like a towel and held away from Ritcher’s body. She wants to feel irritated, but she can’t muster up the strength. Yui’s voice calls out to her once more, but it’s still too muffled to make out what is being said to her.

“Why should you have to deal with a foul taste? What if this is his endgame?” Ritcher states in a strangled tone. Mai hears Cordelia click her tongue before softly cooing at the male.

“Aw, aren’t you just a sweetheart, my love? Would you like to try a bit of her blood in my stead then?”

It’s silent for a few minutes before she feels herself being shifted once again. Her back is pressed against Ritcher’s chest. Her head slumps forward. She manages to open her eyes a crack, but it doesn’t matter. All she can see is the forest ground below her. A jolt of cold fear rushes through her. Was Ritcher really going to suck her blood? Laito had drank so much earlier, and she doesn’t think she has much to spare. 

Another concerning thing drifts to the front of her mind. She can’t see the ground very well. It hasn’t changed much in terms of light, but she’d been able to see Ritcher’s face earlier, which she shouldn’t have be able to see at all. The moon’s faintly peeking through the branches, but not enough to actually light it to the extent she can see anything more than dark shapes. She squints her eyes at the forest floor below her, but it slowly disappears into darkness.

Unfortunately, she doesn’t get time to dwell on the odd occurrence. Sweet pain races through her shoulder. Her mouth opens in a silent gasp, but that’s all that happens. She doesn’t fight back, nor does she make a sound. The pain only lasts a moment before it’s gone.

“It’s…” Ritcher starts but stops after a few seconds. He seems to be considering his words carefully, but she’s not sure. “It’s not any different than a normal human’s blood.”

Something presses itself against Mai, though she’s more concerned with the complete darkness creeping into the edges of her consciousness.

“My love, you have some blood on your lip,” Cordelia states in a husky voice. “No, no. Allow me.”

When Cordelia presses Yui’s body against her own, Mai feels suffocated, but she can’t find it in herself to even try to fight.

She just slips into unconsciousness.

At least, she thought she did.

She finds herself standing in a dimly lit room. She slowly turns herself in a circle. The carpet below her was as white as snow. An empty, brick fireplace sits unused at one end of the room. Expensive oak desk sits not far from the fireplace. Two white chairs sit directly in front of the desk, but that’s only furniture in the room. It doesn’t matter where she looks, everything else is completely bare.

Her eyes lock with the door just across from the desk. A trickle of fear races along her spine, and she gets the overwhelming sensation that she’s being watched. She cautiously glances over her shoulder at the empty desk and chairs. Once she’s sure there is no one else in the room with her, she turns back to the door and slowly makes her way closer. In order to make herself feel a tiny bit better, she tells herself over and over that this is nothing more than a dream.

After all, she’s had vivid dreams before.

Just as her fingers brush the doorknob, a jolt of icy pain races through her fingertips and runs all the way up to her elbow. She rips her hand back and presses both hands to her chest. The fingers of her opposite hand wrap around the ones that touched the doorknob to find they feel frozen. Mai feels every hair stand on end. Something is very, very wrong with this place. She casts another cautious glance around herself, but she doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

She lets out an involuntary cry of surprise when the sound of a woman’s voice reaches her ears. Disgust fills her body not long after. It almost sounds like the woman is moaning in pleasure. An uncomfortable feeling begins to fester in the pit of her stomach, and she grabs the hem of her shirt in her hand and tries the doorknob again.

The woman’s cries become louder to the point it’s echoing off the walls. Mai turns the knob as fast as she can.

She regrets it the moment the door is thrown open by an unseen force. The edge collides hard with her face and chest. She hears, rather than feels, the pop coming from her face. Warmth runs down her face, and she staggers backwards. Her mouth quickly becomes full of a nasty metallic taste that she knows is coming from her nose. Her hands fly up to press against her mouth, but it does little to stem the flow of blood coming from what she assumes is a broken nose. She releases a loud whimper, but that is quickly drowned out by the loud wailing coming from the doorway. In fact, it’s so loud that Mai feels like her head is going to split in half.

She’s unsure when it happened, but she’s now resting on her knees with her bloody hands pressed against her ears. Her own screams of pain join the many other cries at that point. Without warning, everything goes completely silent, even the sound of her own screams. Slowly, she closes her mouth and opens her eyes after a few seconds. The room seems even brighter, though she isn’t sure how.

Cautiously, she glances around for the light source, but she can’t find it. She decides to turn her attention to the hallway to find that it’s eerily lit with a flickering light, causing Mai to shudder.

This’s like being in a bad horror movie. The only way out is the dimly lit corridor, where something’s bound to leap out of one of the many doors that line the hallway. As if to prove her point, Mai slowly climbs to her feet, cautiously wiping at the blood on her face. More blood just replaces it, and her nose gives a painful throb for her effort. Mai ignores it the best she can and quietly creeps her way to the doorway. She doesn’t bother poking her head out, that’s just asking for trouble. Instead, she cautiously steps to one side so she can see a short length of hallway. To her utter surprise, there isn’t a single doorway.

A strange dripping sound attracts her attention, and she feels every ounce of skin on her body become icy cold. In fact, she’s too afraid to look for the sound right away. The dripping steadily continues until Mai can’t take it anymore and cautiously looks over her shoulder. She doesn’t see anything right away.

Movement is what catches her eye. There’s something dripping from the ceiling. Mai feels tears starting to prick at the edges of her eyes. She doesn’t want to look up. She knew it’d be a mistake, but it’s just as big of one to not look up. Slowly, she lifts her gaze.

Her scream freezes in her throat. It’s like something out of her worst nightmare.

The creature has the face of a woman, only the head is twisted at an awkward angle to stare down at her, making it look like the neck is broken. The woman’s skin is a deathly gray color. Her eyes are a deep red color, and they glow with an unnatural light. She pulls her thin sickly lips back to reveal sharklike teeth. The body disappears into darkness, but Mai can see eight hairy, spider like legs jutting out of the darkness around the woman’s face. Hanging limply not far from what Mai assumes is the body is a tail, much like a scorpion.

The woman’s mouth opens and releases a screech like a dying animal before the tail lashes out at Mai.

“Run!!!”

Mai follows the order blindly by bolting out the door. She hears the snapping of wood when the tail strikes where Mai had been standing. She doesn’t look back as she bolts down the hallway with her heart in her throat. She hears a loud thump followed by a chilling clicking noise coming from behind, spurring her to run even faster.

Yui’s voice echos off the walls.

“Don’t go to sleep! Please, Mai! Please wake up! Please don’t!”

Another voice higher pitched voice joins Yui’s

“You bitch! You won’t escape!”

The blood in her mouth and nose makes it hard for her to breath. Her eyes desperately search for a door of some kind, but she can’t find one. The hallway seems to go on forever, and her lungs are beginning to burn.

Without warning, something pitches out in front of her, and she doesn’t have time to stop or react in anyway. Her foot collides with it, and her body pitches forward. She closes her eyes, reaches out her hands to brace herself, and fully expects to feel pain racing up her arms.

It never comes. Instead, her hands sink into a warm wiggling mass. Panic causes her to open her eyes only to find a blue face inches from her own. Mai lets out a scream and throws herself backwards in order to awkwardly crawl away.

Unfortunately, her hand touches something slimy, causing her to release another scream and jerk her hand up to her chest. Something sticky and cold soaks through her shirt. Bright, blinding lights turn on all around Mai, causing her to lift her hands and shield her eyes. Finally, her eyes seem to adjust, but she wishes that they hadn’t.

Women’s broken bodies are lying everywhere she looks. What she first assumed was water is actually blood. Bile forces it’s way out of her mouth, just adding to the horrible stench of death around her. Her body trembles violently.

“Please, Mai! Please! Call for one of them!”

Mai vomits once again.

“It won’t do you any good to call for them.” 

Mai is finally able to close her eyes. The bright lights disappear, and the cold feeling of old blood disappears. A soft feeling replaces it, and Mai cautiously opens her eyes to find snow white carpet below her soiled hands. Her gaze slowly lifts to find she’s back in the original room, only there’s no door now. A gentle flickering light draws her gaze. The previously unused fireplace is flickering with an almost welcoming fire. In fact, Mai can feel it starting to warm her chilled skin. Every hair on her body stands on end when she finds herself staring at the back of an unfamiliar man.

“After all, you don’t think they love you, do you?”

The man slowly turns to look at Mai, causing her to flinch away. She can’t seem to find any words, so she settles for just glaring silently at him. His vivid blue eyes hold a gentle glow, while his short russet colored hair brushes against his handsome face with every movement. His smile seems friendly, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. He’s wearing baggy jeans with a chain and a plain black t-shirt. He stuffs his hands in his pockets. “Don’t you want to go home? Your real home?”

Mai’s mouth feels like she hasn’t drank anything for a week. This man may seem disarming, but she has a feeling that he is even more dangerous than the brothers. He tilts his head to the side with a curious look while he waits for an answer. Mai’s tongue reaches out to lick her lips only to retract quickly. The taste of blood causes her to gag. The sound of musical laughter fills the room, and the young man slowly begins to approach her. She recoils slightly, but it just seems to make him happy. He squats not far from her and clicks his tongue.

“You’re breaking.”

“Who are you?” Mai asks in a cracking voice. Her throat begins to burn with the strain talking puts on it. The man gives her a sympathetic look.

“You know me, my dear,” he gently coos at her.

“Wake up!” Yui’s faint voice echoes deep inside Mai’s head. A sadistic smile begins to spread over his face. He leans forward, placing a hand on the floor between his legs on the floor to steady himself.

“Do you think she’s right? Do you think that you’ll wake up from this nightmare if you call out for those brats? Which one will you cry for?”

Mai feels confused about what’s going on, but the room is growing colder by the second. In fact, she can see her breath at this point. The fire gives one last gentle flicker before beginning to dance wildly. Mai’s heart beat starts to race in response to the flames.

“I….”

The man’s top lip curls away to reveal sharp, sharklike teeth, causing Mai’s breath to hitch in her throat. His voice comes out as a growl. “Why don’t you scream for them? Find just how hopeless you are while I eat you alive. You’ll see that you were never loved!”

The man lunges for her without a second to spare. Mai reacts without thinking. Her fist collides with his face, but it doesn’t stop him. His body drives her backwards. She hits the floor hard enough for her breath to be driven from her lungs. White explodes over her vision, disorienting her for a moment.

The man’s soft hair brushes her cheek seconds before his sharp teeth sink into her neck, easily tearing at her fragile flesh. Pain races through every fiber of her being, and her mouth opens in a scream that echoes off the walls.

“No!” Yui’s voice echos along with Mai’s. “Mai!”

Without a second thought, Mai throws her head back and releases another scream of pure pain. “Laito! Please! Help!”

Her throat feels like it’s being closed off as the man pulls back just enough to release a cold chuckle against her skin. She releases another desperate cry, only it’s not as loud this time. “Please! Laito!”

Her body grows colder by the second. She feels the man sink his teeth into her shoulder this time. Her head becomes heavy and lulls to the side. “Shuu. Subaru. Kanato. Ayato. Reiji. Please someone…...”

She closes her eyes as tears start to drip from her eyes. “Please…. Help me….”

Hopeless threatens to consume her once more. “Laito.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mai!”

Her eyes snap open when she’s violently shaken. It takes a moment, but her eyes finally focus to find concerned green eyes hovering not far from her own. It takes her a moment to realize that she’s really awake this time. By that time, the concern has disappeared into amusement. Mai slowly sits up. Thankfully, Laito moves out of her way.

The room is chilly, but it’s much warmer than the one she had just been in. She casts a curious look around to find that she’s resting on one of the couches in the Sakamaki sitting room. The taste of blood still rests on the tip of her tongue, causing unpleasant memories of her nightmare. Nervously, she turns her attention to her hands. Panic fills her body when she finds them covered in blood.

She’s on her feet in seconds, and her flight instinct kicks in once more.

Unfortunately, she doesn’t get a chance to run. A weight wraps itself around her from behind. She immediately begins to struggle, only to be stopped when Laito’s sultry voice finds its way into her ear. “Shhhh, shhhh, shhhh. It’s ok. It was just a nasty nightmare.”

A sob rips it’s way out of her throat. Despite herself, she finds her muscles relaxing back into Laito. Time slips away while she stands there and sobs in Laito’s arms. It doesn’t seem to bother her that he’s the reason she ran away in the first place. The feeling of someone trying to comfort her feels really good right now, regardless to who it is. To her absolute surprise, he doesn’t say anything snide or even try to tease her. In fact, he slowly turns her around and allows her to bury her face into his chest.

Eventually, the tears stop, but she finds it strangely hard to pull away from the comfort Laito’s arms provide.

Without warning, her thoughts turn to Yui, so she pulls back and looks up at him. “Lai-”

She isn’t able to finish her sentence before his cold lips are on hers. Her eyes widen in surprise, but she doesn’t get a chance to even fight back before he pulls away. His face remains close to hers, and his tongue slowly runs from her chin to her nose.

At first, she makes a disgruntled noise.

“Laito, stop.”

She pushes on his chest half-heartedly, but he doesn’t budge. In fact, he just continues to lick at her face. Without warning, cold terror strikes the pit of her stomach, and she begins to struggle even more. “Laito, wait! Wait! What is going on?!”

“Quiet,” Laito states coldly, almost as if he is warning her. Mai feels every muscle in her body freeze at the sound. His tongue once again begins to trace along her face before moving to her throat, causing her to have to crane her head back awkwardly. She feels his sigh against her skin, and he mutters. “Such a waste.”

She’s not sure how long Laito spends ‘cleaning’ her with his tongue, but she feels even dirtier than before when he finally pulls away.

She opens her mouth to snap at him until she sees an unusual expression pass over his face. It’s a mixture of pain, confusion, and sadness all rolled into one. Her heart leaps into her chest before giving a dull ache. She finds herself reaching out to brush her fingers along his cheek before she even realizes what she’s doing. A look of surprise passes over his face, causing her to jerk her hand away. Unfortunately, he doesn’t allow her to go far. His hand catches hers before returning it to his cheek. Her heart skips a beat, and it almost allows her to forget the terrible dream or the reason she ran away in the first place.

He turns his face into the palm of her hand and closes his eyes. Her breath hitches, and she finds herself at a loss for words. After what feels like a breathless eternity, one of his eyes slowly starts to open.

He releases a deep moan, causing a blush to spread over her face. She immediately tries to rip her hand away, but he stubbornly continues to hold it against his cheek. He releases a chuckle followed by another breathy moan.

“Let go, Laito,” Mai hisses at him.

“You love me,” Laito says before closing his eye again. Mai feels like her heart drops to the pit of her stomach in a matter of seconds. He releases another chuckle before pressing her hand even tighter against his cheek. “Don’t deny it. I heard you call out for me to save you.”

Mai opens and closes her mouth for a second, but sound refuses to leave her mouth. Smug green eyes meet Mai’s once more.

“Sweetheart, you’ll have to be punished.”

“W...what?!” Mai practically squeaks. Laito releases a chuckle and suddenly brushes his lips against hers without warning. She doesn’t even bother trying to pull away. Fear fills her entire being when she finds herself staring into glowing green eyes.

“You traded spots with Subaru when we were having fun. You followed Ayato when you should have came to me. You conspired to get rid of my mother with my brothers. You even called out to them when you were afraid,” Laito states; his voice growing darker by the second. He clicks his tongue, and goose bumps start to form over her skin. The fear only continues to grow when she feels his cold fingers lightly place themselves around her neck. He releases a breathy moan and mutters softly in her ear. “I love you.”

His fingers slowly start to cut off her oxygen before she fully realizes what is happening. She tries to jerk away, but he just tightens his hold, effectively halting any escape attempt. A wheeze leaves her lips, and she stares up at Laito in growing horror. His glowing green eyes only seem to glow brighter with his excitement. He leans dangerously close to her face. “Aren’t you flattered? I’m going to kill you with my own two hands. Then you’ll be mine forever. It won’t matter if you love me or not. Don’t you feel how much I care?”

Full blown panic fills her chest. She doesn’t think her heart can take much more, since it’s now beating painfully in her chest. She instinctively begins to thrash as hard as she can. All it does is cause them to end up on the floor. Mai doesn’t even feel the impact, since she’s so focused on trying to pry Laito’s hands off her throat.

“I…” She painfully wheezes. Her thoughts race, and one of her eyes closes tightly. She needs to think of something fast, or she’ll really die here. She desperately scratches at Laito’s hands and arms, but she knows it won’t do any good. Darkness threatens to eat away at her vision, so she just closes her other eye. In a desperate attempt to save herself, she wheezes out. “I…..lo…..ve….you…...Lai…….to.”

To her absolute surprise, his grip loosens enough that she can breath a little better. It isn’t enough to allow her to feel safe, but it does allow her to talk a little better. “Please. I do. Please. You…. You…. You’re hurting me!”

She forces her eyes open to find his face completely devoid of emotion. Her breath hitches in her throat, and she silently wonders if she had said something wrong. The minutes tick by, and his hands remain wrapped around her throat. Finally, an emotionless smirk spreads over his face, and he leans closer to her. His next words send tendrils of regret and a couple of other emotions through her body.

“Prove it.”

How’s she going to get out of this one?

On a scarier note, does she even want to get out of this one?


	30. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a couple of things I want to say real quick.
> 
> First, I want to put a warning here before I forget. Please be aware that this chapter is dark (much darker than I originally thought it'd be) There is a little gore, violence, murder, thoughts of suicide, etc. So be careful!
> 
> Second, T.T I am so sorry that it's been so long! That was not my intention, but I hit a writers block with this chapter for some reason! It's sat half written on my computer for months and I just got back around to finish writing and proofreading it this week. Sorry ahead of time for any mistakes! If this chapter is confusing at points, just know I'll have it explained in a couple of chapters. Still, feel free to tell me what you think though! Also, sorry to all the Laito lovers! T.T He's not in this chapter much. I didn't realize that fact until after I went over the chapter one more time. Regardless, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Thank you so much for your patience!

Breathe in.

 

Breathe out.

 

Breathe in.

 

Breathe out.

 

Like some kind of mantra, Mai continues to silently repeat those words to herself, though it does little to help her rising emotions. Much to her frustration, she can’t tell if it’s fear, frustration, or some emotion she’d rather not think about. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see her hands are violently shaking. She tries to hide this by using one of them to awkwardly press against his chest, while resting the other one lightly on his shoulder.

 

She wants to look up at him, but she’s afraid to see the lust filled amusement in his green eyes. How is she supposed to start this? What does she have to do? Her own inexperience threatens to overwhelm her, and she finds herself starting to draw away from him. A chuckle reaches her ears, effectively halting her and causing every muscle to tense. Finally, she works the courage to look up into his green eyes. To her utter shock, she doesn’t find a shred of mockery in his eyes.

 

Once her heart is lodged firmly in her throat, it stops beating. The more she searches his eyes, the more she discovers the green orbs aren’t full of amusement or lust. They don’t even hold any of their usual sadistic cockiness. To put it simply, they don’t seem to hold anything.

 

He’s staring at her with eyes devoid of any sort of emotion.

 

What scares her the most is the fact that he seems to be looking **_through_** her.

 

She immediately draws back, and her heart sinks to the furthest pit of her stomach. Any half hatched plans her brain had came up with on the fly instantly disappear from her mind. She feels any fire she had felt before smolder away into coldness. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get far before his cold hand wraps around her arm, just above her elbow. She releases a hiss of pain when his grip quickly becomes bone crushing, but she doesn’t get a chance to struggle or even tell him that he’s hurting her before he’s making his next move.

 

His free arm snakes around her waist, drawing her closer to him, until her body is painfully pressed tightly against his. His face buries itself in her neck, causing goosebumps to spread over her skin. Her flight instinct kicks into overdrive. She needs to get away from him if she wants to survive. She presses her free arm against his shoulder and shoves with all her might, but it’s futile. He jerks the arm he is holding upwards until it’s at an awkward angle, causing a gasp to leave her lips when her muscles protest. She leans up on her tippy toes to try to ease some tension, though it does little to help. A deep blush flushes her cheeks when she hears his groan of apparent pleasure rumble in her ear. His cold lips start to leave a trail of butterfly kisses along her jugular vein.

 

An uncomfortably strange fear starts to course through her veins. Something about the seemingly romantic gesture feels dangerous to her. It feels like he’s silently threatening her, but she can’t pinpoint why she has that feeling. His lips meet and trace along her jawbone in those same, ticklish butterfly kisses. She tries to turn her head away from him, but he simply follows her. Without warning, his fangs lightly brush the area just below her ear, causing a small gasp to leave her lips. He releases a deep chuckle before gently rubbing his nose along the now sensitive skin instead of his lips. To her surprise, he pulls back in order to look down at her. His eyes no longer hold that dead look. Instead, they appear to be full of lust. A strange sense of relief flows through Mai, and she finds herself relaxing. Laito releases a soft chuckle and swoops back down to leave a light trail of kisses along her neck once more.

 

With a jolt, she realizes it’s the area where he had wrapped his hands around her neck not long ago. Her entire body tenses, and an unlikely thought passes through her mind. Is he trying to kiss the wounds he gave her better?

 

White, hot pleasure smothers any other thought. Her head falls back, and she’s faintly aware that she’s barely standing. Laito’s arm wraps tighter around her waist, and his other hand finally releases her elbow to delve in her hair. His fingertips begin to lightly massage her scalp, and she can feel her eyes rolling into the back of her head. All rational thought leaves her brain in that exact moment. Unfortunately, she’s jolted out of her pleasure filled haze by the sound of ripping fabric and a sharp pain.

 

“Oops,” Laito’s nonchalantly responses, though it doesn’t stop him from dragging his tongue along his fresh bite mark. A shudder of pleasure runs through Mai’s body, but she finds herself blinking rapidly, while her mind tries to catch up with what happened.

 

She’s not sure when it happened, but Laito seems to have created some distance while she was distracted. Her eyes numbly watch Laito lean toward her. Just when she thinks he’s going to kiss her, his head dips toward her chest. Pain steals her breath, and she glances down. To her horror, she can only see the top of Laito’s head, but something more sinister catches her attention.

 

Out of the corner of her eye, the tip of a kitchen knife is barely visible. While that’s frightening by itself, she can see the tip is clearly coated in a thin line of bright, red blood. She feels his cold tongue brush over the side of her breast before he lowers himself down to place light kisses just above her now bare belly button. Her mind races frantically, and she finds herself only able to stare.

 

Blood is beading out of a shallow cut that runs from her collarbone all the way down to disappear behind Laito’s head. The stinging sensation let her know that it went all the way to the hem of her pants. Her eyes shift to the now clearly visible knife in the hand that had previously been in her hair before turning to look down at the back to Laito’s head. Her breathing starts to come out in rapid pants when her brain is finally able to catch up with what happened.

 

He’d used the knife to cut her shirt and bra away, but he’d carelessly cut her as well. While it didn’t look deep, it still stung. Laito’s tongue is doing nothing to help. To be honest, it felt almost like he was making it worse.

 

She’s now vividly aware that she can feel the warm blood slowly running down her body. Cold fingertips brush her ruined clothes off her shoulders before she can get her numb body to even react, leaving her almost bare under Laito’s gaze. He pulls back before he finishes licking the shallow cut he made. Mai’s eyes widen when she sees the devoid look has reappeared on his face. Once again, it appears that he’s not looking at her. It seems like he’s looking at someone else, but her hazy mind can’t think of who it’d be. The very thought that he’s right here with her, but thinking of someone else, sends a strange, horrible pain straight through her heart, and the feeling of bile starts to rise up her throat. Her eyes narrow while she tries to find some shred of the normal Laito. Sadly, she isn’t able to find him, no matter how hard she looks.

 

Finally, a combination of the inability to handle the pain any longer and some regained sense causes her to spin on her heel. Without a second thought, she begins to run from him. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get more than a few steps before a cold hand catches hers in a bone crushing grip. She lets out a cry of anger, humiliation, and pain, so she isn’t thinking clearly before she reacts. She just uses his yanking motion to add momentum to her spin. Her free hand is already a formed fist by the time she’s fully facing him.

 

It doesn’t surprise her when he catches her fist with his free hand before it can reach his cheek. That isn’t what she’s truly aiming for. After all, it was only meant as a distraction. Thankfully, it seems to work since she is freely able to take a step forward and drive her knee upwards as hard as she can. Time seems to stop. His eyes widen for a moment before he releases a strangled sound. His grip loosens, and she rips away before turning and aimlessly running from him.

 

Her breath comes out in ragged pants, while her arms wrap firmly around her chest. Tears blur her vision, and she lets out a sob. It feels like her heart had been violently ripped out and stomped on. Her chest and stomach stung, as did her wrist and just above her elbow. Why did she think this time would be any different?

 

She blindly turns down a hallway and runs full tilt down it.

 

Why didn’t she run out the front door while she had a chance?

 

Oh that’s right. Last time, that didn’t work out so well for her.

 

She stumbles on something unseen, but manages to somehow keep her balance. Her sobs echo in time with her racing footsteps. Without any sort of warning, a door she passes is ripped open, almost tearing it off its’ hinges. A hand lashes out to wrap tightly around her arm, and her body is savagely yanked through the doorway. The moment her body clears it, the door is slammed shut with a resounding crack. Despite the rough handling, Mai somehow manages to keep her arms firmly wrapped around her chest; however, it causes her to trip over her own feet and land in an awkward heap in the middle of a dark room. She scrambles to roll over and sit up in one motion. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get a chance to look up to see who grabbed her before a shirt is painfully thrown in her face.

 

A familiar scent fills her nose, but it’s not Laito’s. In her still panicked state, she’s not able to immediately place it. She cautiously releases an arm from around her chest, reaches up to pull the shirt down, and uses it to cover herself. Her eyes lift to find herself staring at the door instead of her ‘savior’. A quick glance around shows an unfamiliar room. Dark shapes threateningly loom over her. Only a sliver of moonlight actually produces any sort of light in the room, but it isn’t strong enough to actually see by. Instead of wasting her energy trying to pick out what appears to be a human shape, she presses the shirt closer to her chest. Finally, a snarl from the corner of the room draws her attention.

 

“Dumb bitch. Put the fucking shirt on. It’s not a blanket.”

 

Her body stiffens at the sound of a very familiar voice. Without a second thought, she quietly asks, “Subaru?”

 

He grunts as an answer. An awkward silence fills the room, and her silent hopes that he’ll give her space to get dressed quickly dwindle away. Her skin prickles, leading her to believe he’s staring at her from his hiding place. After a deep calming breath, she awkwardly pulls the shirt on, trying to not show him anything more than she already has. Once the shirt is on, she unconsciously clears her throat, though she’s not sure why. She knew she should say thank you, or anything really, but she finds herself unable to form any words right away. The silence starts to wear on her already frayed nerves. Finally, she blurts out. “I thought you didn’t like me anymore.”

 

“I never liked you, human,” is the blunt, harsh response she receives, but she doesn’t let it bother her. Instead, she wraps her arms around her knees and pulls them up to her throbbing chest, silently thankful that he pulled her out of her frantic headlong rush and loaned her a shirt. Much to her relief, she doesn’t have think of a new topic when he snarls at her. “If you dirty that shirt, you’ll pay with your life.”

 

Mai glances down, but she can’t actually see what it looks like. Curiosity gets the better of her, and her fingers find the hem of the shirt. To her surprise, she finds it’s tattered. A small, exhausted smile reaches her mouth, and her gaze lifts to look in the direction Subaru’s voice is coming from. Maybe they are still friends? She could only hope. Her mouth moves without a second thought. “Thank you.”

 

He scoffs harshly before snapping. “The sound of your obnoxious crying is like fingernails on a chalkboard. I can’t stand listening to it anymore than I have to.”

 

Mai releases a watery chuckle before returning to hug her knees in silence. After a few minutes pass, Mai softly says, “I think you’ll have to kill me. I’m sure my blood has soaked into your shirt.”

 

The sound of something breaking across the room sends her heart into her throat, effectively cutting off her air supply for a few seconds. Pure fear courses through her, and she scrambles to her feet as fast as humanly possible. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t hav-”

 

“Shut up!” Subaru’s voice is much, much closer than she expected it to be. His hand captures the middle of her upper arm in his normal, tight grip. With a sharp tug, she finds herself scrambling to keep up with him while he quickly crosses the room. Her foot catches a piece of unseen wood, causing her to stumble. Unfortunately, Subaru doesn’t take that into consideration, so he just keeps dragging her along behind him without slowing. Subaru only pauses for a moment before she hears him ripping open another door. She flinches at the sound of the doorknob sinking into the wall, but she doesn’t dwell on it long. The hall light floods into Subaru’s room, finally revealing his furious features. Much to Mai’s displeasure, she doesn’t get a chance to ask him anything before finding herself being drug down the hallway at the same quick pace he’d set in his room.

 

After several breathless questions, and cold replies of ‘shut the hell up’, Mai finds herself standing on a balcony. Subaru’s tight grip falls away, but Mai barely notices. Her eyes are firmly locked on the moon in the sky. It looks huge, and much more beautiful than she’s ever seen before.

 

That leads to another line of silent contemplation. Had she ever truly paid attention before? Or had she taken it for granted, like so many other things?

 

She takes slow, steady steps toward the railing. Despite her eyes never leaving the sky, she’s faintly aware of Subaru moving alongside her. Her hands slowly lift to grip the cold metal railing, and she finds herself leaning dangerously over it.

 

“I won’t catch you if you’re stupid enough to fall,” Subaru snaps at her. She turns her head just enough to look in his direction, completely unaware of the smile spreading over her face in response to his cold words.

 

“I wouldn’t expect you to,” she says softly before returning her gaze to the full moon. Her thoughts keep turning over the fact that she never realized just how beautiful it is. Why didn’t she paid attention? Why does it seem so mesmerizing now?

 

“You’re going to fall, dumbass,” Subaru grunts at her. She spares him a glance before turning her attention to the situation at hand. At some point, she seems to have unconsciously climbed onto the railing. Her hands loosely grip the metal running between her legs. The tip of her toes barely touch the balcony, while the other leg dangles uselessly in the air. When the full gravity of her predicament hits home, her heart leaps into her throat. Her hands, and legs, tighten around the railing. Despite telling herself to look away, she can’t pull her eyes away from the ground below her.

 

She truly believed the earth swimming is something that only happens in cartoons, but she finds it to be completely true. The harder she stares, the more the ground directly below her seems to rise and fall like waves in the ocean. She unconsciously lets out a loud whimper. The sound of a scoff draws her reluctant gaze upward, though it takes her a few fear filled seconds to do so. Her wide, teary eyes lock with amused, red ones. Subaru is standing at the other end of the balcony. He’s leaning against the wall with one foot lifted to rest against the wall, while his arms are crossed over his chest. A sadistic smirk has overtaken his face.

 

It strikes her as odd that she can clearly see that he is smiling. In fact, it’s almost like she can see every detail of his face and clothes. The more she thinks about it; the more it seems as if it were the middle of the day, not the middle of the night. She can feel her body shaking even more violently than before, so she grips the railing till her knuckles turn white and begin to ache. Despite the rising nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach, she forces herself to turn her attention up to the moon once more. It’s huge and white, shedding lots of light on the earth below it. Silently, she tells herself she can see so well due to how unobscured it currently is. After all, it’s not unheard of for humans to be able to see at night thanks to a full moon. While she watches, clouds start to drift in front of it.

 

“You’re a moron. Are you planning on getting down anytime soon, or are you hoping you fall?” Subaru suddenly scoffs again, though he doesn’t sound as irritated as before. Mai once again drags her attention from the moon to stare back at Subaru with a questioning stare. Had she been mesmerized by the moon again?

 

While staring at the silver haired vampire, a very familiar sensation slowly creeps over her. In fact, it’s so familiar that it only takes a moment for her to realize where she’s felt it before. It happens when she wanders the halls of this mansion by herself. That creepy sensation one gets when they can subconsciously sense someone is watching every single move they are making. Every fine hair on her body starts to stand on end, and she glances around before realizing where it’s coming from. Her gaze snaps back to the only other person with her at that exact moment. The words leave her mouth before she even thinks about it. “Was… Was it you all this time?!”

 

He gives her a confused look before snapping. “What the fuck are you blabbering about now, moron?”

 

Mai observes him for a moment before deciding to try to get on stable ground before continuing this conversation. Given this is Subaru she is talking to, it seems like a safer option; less tempting to just shove her over for an imagined accusation. She takes a deep breath to steady her nerves and tries to get the courage to lift her leg back over the railing. She manages to only lift it a little before swaying a little due to being off balance. Still, it’s enough to send fear coursing through her fiber of her being. Her leg drops back down to rewrap around the cold metal. Her heart leaps into her throat, and she has to take a deep breath to keep from letting out a strangled sob. Her body is violently shaking again, though she isn’t sure it ever stopped shaking, and it’s only made worse when she risks a quick look down. Thankfully, she’s able to pull her gaze away to look around for some way to save herself. Some shred of relief comes when she finds that the balcony is encased in walls. If she could just get close to one, she could lean on it and slowly work the leg over without the risk of falling.

 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?! Didn’t you hear me?! I asked you a question!” Subaru snaps. He straightens up, but he doesn’t drop his arms. Anger and impatience fill his red eyes, and he seems to be threateningly towering over her. An overwhelming sense of danger threatens to drown any rational thought. She takes a deep breath, scoots back as fast as she dares, and presses herself tightly against the wall. Despite the fact that the corner digs into the flesh beside her spine, a sense of comfort overtakes her fear, allowing her to release a sigh of contentment. At least, she doesn’t feel like she’s about to fall to her death anymore. She finally returns her attention to Subaru to find him clearing seething almost murderously at her. She silently stares at him for a few minutes, while she tries to think of an appropriate response to his question. How can she explain that she thought he’s been, for lack of a better word at the moment, stalking her? Before she realizes it, he’s standing directly in front of her. She doesn’t get a chance to really react before his hand connects with the wall beside her head. She feels every muscle in her body tense, and it’s all she can do to not flinch and lean away. After all, there is nothing but air on that side. Subaru slowly and threateningly leans closer to her face. He bares his fangs at her before snarling. “What, exactly, are you accusing me of, dumb bitch?”

 

“I’m not accusing you of anything,” she mutters. He bares his fangs at her threateningly once more, clearly not believing her. She feels her breath suck in, and her body feels so taunt her muscles might snap. The wall isn’t helping like she hoped it would. To be honest, it was a silly idea to begin with. What can a wall do to save her if he chooses to just shove her? It won’t take much effort on his part. With a sick feeling, she wonders if he’d even feel bad. She carefully turns her head to glance at his fist out of the corner of her eye, only to find it’s still connected to the now damaged wall. She shifts slowly and pulls her gaze away from the angry vampire before her. She’s not sure why, but her gaze finds its’ way to the ground below her. Oddly enough, she doesn’t feel the fear she felt before, nor is it moving. Still, she needs to say something to try to cool his temper, but it’s always so hard to figure out what to say on the spot. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get long since a snarl from him prompts her to quickly say, “I was just asking if you were the one who has been hanging around watching me from the shadows in the hallways. That’s creepy you know. Very stalkerish.”

 

“Huh?!” His fist slams in the same spot. She barely has time to shut her eyes tightly before chunks of wall pelt her shoulder, face and scalp. “What the hell are you talking about?!”

 

It feels like something comes loose deep inside her, and she finds it impossible to contain the laughter bubbling up. She lifts a hand to press against her mouth in a vain attempt to stifle her it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work, and just seems to anger the vampire towering over her.

 

“I’m going to push you over if you don’t stop that irritating noise.” Despite the very real sounding threat, it just makes her laugh harder. No matter what she does, she can’t stop herself. Her stomach starts to hurt, and tears form in her eyes, but she doesn’t dare release the railing to hold it. To make matters worse, she can’t even hunch over to ease the tension that way since Subaru’s in the way. His voice is low and dangerous when he growls, “get a hold of yourself!”

 

The second she feels his hand touch her shoulder, panic sets in. She’s positive that he’s about to throw her to her death. Still, it doesn’t stem her laughter. In panic filled haze, she releases the metal, throws her arms around his neck, and pulls herself upward until she’s pressed against him. Her face buries itself into his shoulder. Unwillingly, he helps stifle her giggles, and his shirt starts to soak up her tears. There’s no way he’d throw her now, not if it drug him down with her. To her utter, twisted amusement, she feels his body tense up against hers. Unable to stop herself, she gives him a tight squeeze. All this happens in the span of a couple seconds, and she doesn’t give him a chance to even recover before turning her face just enough that she can be heard, “Subaru, you’re such a kind person, despite your many, many faults!”

 

“Hey! Are you insulting me?” He snarls coldly. She feels his fist slam into her ribs, winding her, but she refuses to release him from her hug. Instead, she just holds him tighter.

 

“You brought me out here to make me feel better, didn’t you?”

 

“Fuck off! Why would I do such an idiotic thing?!” His fingers tangle in her hair, and he gives a violent tug. Tears spring into her eyes once more, but she still resists. Much to her relief, he doesn’t try to pull out her hair and quickly releases it.

 

“You’re allowing me to borrow your shirt, even though I’m getting blood on it,” she argues.

 

“Only because you’re fucking ugly without one!” He snaps. His fist hits her ribs before she can retort that most boys like girls without clothes on. Unfortunately, she’s left gasping and praying he didn’t break any bones this time.

 

With a serious note in her voice, she says softly. “I’m so glad that we’re friends.”

 

“We are **_not_ ** friends,” Subaru snarls before jabbing her once more. This time, she releases him due to the fact that she’s positive one more hit will crack a rib. He quickly retreats from her and returns to his original position, while she does the same. His furious gaze lifts to watch the moon, and a couple of awkward seconds drift by. “You reek like that pervert.”

 

She’s just about to try to properly thank him for his weird way of helping her when he mentions Laito. Every muscle in her body becomes tense all over again, and she finds herself staring at the railing between her legs. Goosebumps slowly spread over her body, and she feels like she can’t breathe.

 

After what feels like an uncomfortable eternity passes by, she softly asks a question that has been floating around the back of her mind for a while now. “Subaru, do you think I’m a terrible person?”

 

He makes a sound of annoyance in the back of his throat and doesn’t bother to reply. Finally, Mai lifts her gaze to meet his, only to see a startled look pass over his swimming face before it becomes stony once more. “I think you’re a pathetic, insignificant human, who needs to remember your place in the food chain.”

 

At the harshness of his words, Mai’s gaze drops to her white knuckled hands, but she can’t bring herself to disagree with him. Silence takes over, and she finds herself unable to say anything at all. If she were to be honest with herself, she didn’t feel very talkative anymore. Why did reality have to hurt so bad? Why did life have to be so hard? Her gaze slowly moves from the railing to the ground so far below. For a dizzying moment, she clings even tighter to the railing between her legs. It’s funny, but the longer she stares at the ground; the more relaxed her grip becomes. Dark thoughts begin to weave their way through her mind. Her plans to get close to Cordelia in order to save Yui seem so childish and naive now that she put some deeper thought into it. Her involvement with Laito, Shuu, or any of the brothers is another cause for concern. Why is she trying so hard? Who has been there for her? Why is she still here?

 

Before long, she finds the fear of falling has completely disappeared, but that doesn’t put her mind at ease. The tension just changes into something that is much, much more frightening.

 

It would be so easy to just lean her weight one way. She could do it quickly. The hardest part would be letting go of the railing. She drags her gaze to her white knuckled grip once more. Her hands and thighs are starting to ache, so she doesn’t think they’ll really support her weight. Her blank gaze shifts back to the ground. One pro is she’d feel the wonderful weightlessness that skydivers always raved about before her body painfully connected with the ground. Her eyes lift to glance in Subaru’s direction, but she doesn’t really see him before her gaze drops to the ground once more. What did it matter what he thought? They’d just find a new soul to torture anyway. Haven’t they done that countless times before? She isn’t anything special to them. She didn’t have super delicious blood like Yui. This way, she can be free of the heartache and torment.

 

Her nose scrunches up when she truly considers it. Will it really hurt that bad? Or will it hurt less than the pain she’s already been through? How long will it take before the pain disappears? Will it overload her brain?

 

Would she be able to truly escape Laito, or will she become trapped like all those other women?

 

At the thought of being stuck in some sort of hellish limbo, it feels like she’s been punched in the chest. Thankfully, the pain seems to be just what she needs in order to snap her out of her current thought process. With a deep breath, she is able to shove those dark thought back where they came from. How will doing something so terribly permanent help her at all? A sick feeling starts to build in the pit of her stomach, and her heart gives another painful throb. What is wrong with her? How can she think of abandoning everything she’s worked for?

 

“You truly are pathetic, aren’t you?”

 

The sound of his voice snaps her out of her thoughts. To her absolute horror, she finds herself still leaning dangerously over the railing. She tries to correct her posture, but her sudden jerking movement has the opposite effect. Her body pitches the wrong way, and she scrambles to grab the railing. She frantically curses herself for even letting go. When did that happen?! Her sweaty hands slips the first time. Her body seems to be moving in slow motion, and her heart stops completely. She’s running out of time! Her foot is no longer touching the balcony. In fact, she can feel the metal railing touching the back of her knee at this point. Her mouth goes dry, and she lashes out a second time. She **_has_ ** to get it this time! Thankfully, her second scrambling grab is successful, and she keeps her body from slipping any further over into the abyss. She just sits there in that awkward position for a heart wrenching moment before she begins her mad scramble back over. She didn’t have long, since every muscle in her body is violently shaking, making it hard to keep her grip. Her sweaty palms certainly weren’t helping matters either. Somehow, she manages to make it to safety, but she doesn’t just stop there. She crawls over to the door on shaking limbs. Just as she reaches it, laughter draws her attention back to the silver haired vampire. Her mouth opens and closes a couple of times while her scattered, frantic thoughts scramble into a coherent sentence.

 

“You… you were going to… let me fall…” She whispers in a hoarse, but somehow high pitched, voice. She thought she’d be able to yell at him, but she isn’t even able to muster up the strength to make her voice anything other than audible.

 

Subaru releases an amused snort, seemingly oblivious to Mai’s mixture of anger and terror. “Who am I to stop you if you want to do something so dangerous? Besides you don’t have anything to worry about.”

 

“You… were going to… let me… fall..” Mai states once more, still in an unbelieving stupor. She wants to slap her forehead. She wants to punch Subaru. She wants to cry.

 

She wants a lot of things, but she can’t muster enough energy to try a single one of them.

 

All she can do is stare at Subaru’s laughing face. A sense of numbness threatens to take over her body. Why is she so surprised? This is an everyday occurance to them. Life and death hold absolutely no meaning to any of them. Her body begins to shake, but she’s not sure if it’s pain, fear, or anger. Time seems to slow to a stop while she watches the vampire in front of her. He’s so beautiful when he laughs. To be honest, he’s even attractive when he’s frowning or being cruel. Something she never noticed before. In fact, he’s dangerously beautiful. But something feels...different. He isn’t oddly attractive, like she used to think they all were. There isn’t a strange allure she felt before.

 

She feels her breath suck in, and she pushes the thoughts from her mind. That trail of thought is quickly beginning to frighten her. Cold sweat starts runs over her skin all over again, and she finally drags her attention away from Subaru to stare out at what she can see of the garden. Upon seeing the ground, all her previous thoughts come crashing down on her once more, effectively crushing her.

 

For no apparent reason, Subaru’s strange comment suddenly leaps forth. She had been so angry at the the time that she didn’t think twice about the wording. Her eyes slowly drift back to him to find him looking up at the moon with his usual unreadable expression back on his face. Did he mean he would’ve caught her if she fell? Or did he mean that she wouldn’t have died?

 

With a sinking feeling, she finds herself feeling sick that she even has to question it. People die from falling off a step stool, so why wouldn’t it be fatal if she fell from a couple of stories? She knows people have survived the impossible before, but she hasn’t had that kind of luck lately.

 

“You wouldn’t have fallen.” Those words are spoken with certainty, but they don’t make her feel any better. She doesn’t bother responding to him. Instead, she turns her gaze back to the gardens and allows her thoughts to slowly fade out into sweet emptiness. Every muscle in her body slowly begins to relax, and she finds herself easily losing track of time. When her gaze finally seeks Subaru again, she finds he has silently departed at some point.

 

It doesn’t bother her though. In fact, it’s perfect since she needs some alone time to gather her thoughts and feelings. She settles back beside the door to take her time. It’s not until the first rays of dawn warming her face that she finally seems to waken from her stupor. After soaking a few more minutes of warmth, she stiffly stands and turns to step back into the manor. The air feels cold and empty inside the building, despite knowing there are seven people inside.

 

Mai runs her tongue over her lips and glances around before aimlessly making her way down the hallway. Since the sun is rising, it seems likely that everyone is asleep by now. Oddly, she doesn’t feel the pull of sleep. Her feet slow to a stop, and she reaches up to place a shaking hand on her forehead. Even if she doesn’t feel physically tired, it doesn’t mean she isn’t mentally exhausted. With a deep sigh, she forces herself to take a couple of steps halting in her tracks. Does she really want to go to her room right now?

 

The answer is simple.

 

No.

 

To her surprise, she finds that she doesn’t really want to be alone right now, not with how close she had been to throwing herself off a balcony earlier. She isn’t sure it’d be a good idea to bother Subaru after she just spent a good deal of time with him. Her eyes drift down when her fingers tug at his shirt. She’ll have to talk to him eventually to return his clothes, but she believes she can safely skip over him right now. Who did that leave? Laito? The very thought is even more unpleasant than being alone right now, especially with the look he had in his eyes earlier. Her scratch seems to throb as a reminder that there is something very, very wrong with Laito right now. The more she thinks about it, the more she realizes there has been something wrong with him since Cordellia took over Yui’s body. A pang of sadness settles in the pit of her stomach, but she quickly shoves it away. She’s not about to put herself in harm’s way out of pity.

 

Deciding to quickly move on, she considers going to Shuu’s room; however, the thought strikes her as  unpleasant, but she can’t figure out why. She doesn’t relish the thought of spending alone time with either Reiji or Kanato. Ayato’s still moody and almost nonexistent lately.

 

She takes another reluctant step toward her room, but she stops after just one step. The feeling of being watched causes every hair to stand on end. A puff of cold air brushes her cheek and causes her hair to move. Her heart starts to violently race, and her breath catches in her throat. This doesn’t feel like every other time. For some reason, she can feel a sinister intent to it, almost like something is angry with her specifically.

 

After much argument with herself, she cautiously turns her head to look over her shoulder. The more she sees; the less tense she becomes. Finally, her eyes scour every inch of the hallway, but she can’t find anything out of the ordinary.  Much to her relief, the chilling sensation of being watched has disappeared. After one more hard look over every inch of the hallway, including the ceiling, she turns to quickly walk to her room. Unfortunately, she comes face to face with a very decomposed face. One she doesn’t immediately recognize.

 

Sadly, she doesn't get a chance to even try.

 

The woman in white lifts her hand and thrust it into Mai’s chest, just over her heart.

 

So many things happen at once. The air rushes out of her lungs in a violent, raspy, cough. Something wet brushes her lips and dribbles down her chin. A sensation that is so cold it burns spreads from her chest outward, all the way to the tips of her fingers and toes. The sensation leaves behind a rippling effect of tingling pain.

 

Without warning, a pain explodes just behind her eyes that is so intense it causes her vision to go white.

 

The last thing she hears is a strange gargled scream that almost sounds like an animal in pain.

__________________________________________________________________

 

_Her eyes flutter open, and confusion immediately sets in. She’s laying face down in her pillow, with her arms wrapped loosely around it. Her skin feels taut, and it aches to breathe. She slowly rolls onto her side with a groan only to come face to face with a sight she_ **never** _expected to see._

 

_Her heart leaps into her throat. Fear blossoms like some kind of strange flower, but it’s quickly overwhelmed by an indescribable sensation. It feels almost like she’s losing control over the most basic functions of her own body._

 

_The last bit of control slips through her fingers, leaving her trapped within her own mind. It feels so unreal to watch an unfamiliar, slender hand slowly reach out. The back of fingers tenderly brush purple hair out of the peacefully sleeping face. Fear wells up, but Mai finds herself unable to do anything but watch._

 

_To her absolute horror, purple eyes snap open, and a pout settles on his face. Kanato’s hand smacks away the slender one touching his face. His voice comes out laden with sleep and anger. “I told you to sleep, princess. Are you really disobeying me again? Are you looking for punishment?”_

 

_“N...no!” Mai feels her mouth moving, but she isn't the one doing it, nor does she recognize the fear filled voice. A strange, seemingly bottomless pit opens in her stomach, and it takes her a second to recognize the raw feeling of fear. It’s eerie to not recognize her own emotions, but this has a different feel to it. She tries to find an explanation for why it’s not the same as before, but she is unable to do so. It’s just like the fact that she can't explain why, but she_ **knows** _something bad is about to happen. Her attention is drawn back to Kanato when she feels every muscle in her body beginning to tense, leaving her baffled once more._

 

_Kanato's face slowly lights up with a sinister smile, apparently pleased by the look of terror she can feel spreading. He leans up onto an elbow before slowly pressing forward until his face is only inches from hers, and a sick feeling takes over. A look of twisted excitement causes his eyes to get that telltale glow of hunger. His smile reveals sharp teeth. Mai releases a soft groan of fear, only it seems to be just her that hears it. His voice is low and playful, not unlike Laito’s right before he does something twisted. “Teddy just told me something interesting. Something we can do together? Can you guess what it is?”_

 

_She feels her muscles working when she swallows hard. The very sensation causes her skin to crawl. She doesn’t remember doing it, and she doesn’t like the loss of control one bit. It’s made even more frustrating when that strange voice leaves her mouth once again. “P ...please.”_

 

_Kanato's head tilts to the side, giving her an almost thoughtful look before a excitement floods his features again. Without warning, everything goes black, and it feels like she's being suffocated with something soft. The scent of coconut and something unidentifiable floods her lungs, causing her to cough. Thankfully, her muscles respond the way she wants them too, and she's able to tear the offending object away from her face._

 

_To her absolute horror, she finds herself face to face with Teddy. Her gaze flicks over to Kanato's face to find a mischievous look in his purple eyes. Cold fingers run along her side, from the bottom of her rips to the top of her thigh before retracing their path back up her side. She wants to flinch away, but it doesn’t happen._

 

_His continued touch brings about a terrible realization. She’s not wearing any clothes beneath the layers of blankets. She wants to flush and pull away; she wants to scream and cry all at once._

 

_Once again, she wants a lot of things, but she can’t get her body to respond at all.  Without warning, Kanato's face is once again only inches from hers. Terror fills her body, and she begs him not to do what she_ **knows** _he’s about to do. Unfortunately, it seems like she’s the only one who can hear her voice. Cold lips press against her own in a kiss that seems almost gentle, not at all like she assumed it’d be. Still, shock fills every inch of her brain. She's never been this close to Kanato, and she never wanted to be. She feels so lost on what she can do other than just observe helplessly. She watches Kanato pull away, and disappointment flickers over his face for a moment before excitement takes over once more. His playful voice is laced in clear sarcasm. “Women derive pleasure from a kiss, do they not? Such simple creatures.”_

 

_His fingers begin to trace the bones of her face. His head tilts just enough to give him an innocent appearance, furthering her mounting discomfort. “I’ve given you your pleasure. Isn’t it only right you return the favor?”_

 

_Mai can feel her heart starting to race. Disgust fills her, but that’s not what her body is feeling. A thrilling sense of excitement starts to course through her veins, and she finds herself nodding. Her mouth moves of its’ own accord. “Yes. It’s only fair, right?”_

 

_She’s sickened over how eager her body at the thought of pleasing the purple haired vampire. She feels sensations in parts of her body that has her cringing. It’s furthered by the fact that his fingers return to her side instead of her face. She wants to recoil so badly, or even throw Teddy, but she’s like some sort of doll. She’s stuck watching helplessly inside a shell that’s clearly not her own._

 

_“Teddy says you want to play hide and seek again today.” The second those words leave his mouth, Mai hears an unfamiliar voice echo so loudly in her head that she cringes inwardly in an attempt to hide from it._

 

‘No! Not again! Please! I won't survive this time! Someone! Anyone! Father! Mother! Brother! Save me!’

 

_Cold fingers suddenly trace lightly over her stomach causing the taunt skin to tense. Pain shoots through her body, though she’s not sure why. A gasp escapes her mouth. The pain quickly becomes so excruciating that she finds her consciousness swimming. His lips brush her ear when he says, “I’ll hide first. Remember, you have ten minutes to find me, or I’ll punish you!”_

 

_Everything becomes a haze of colors that causes her head to ache terribly. It reminds her of being on a merry-go-round that is spinning so fast she can’t find a stable spot to look at. Finally, everything comes to an abrupt halt, and she’s able to get off the wild ride. She immediately regrets it. All she can taste is dry, almost ashy, dirt, and the metallic taste of blood. A hand is painfully tangled in her hair, effectively holding her face down, preventing her from finding out where she is. Every part of her body hurts. It hurt to breathe, and each breath seems to call forth warm blood from her nose and from between her lips, slowly turning the dirt to mud. Without warning, a pleasant feeling begins to warm her body, but it doesn't stop the pain that appears alongside it. Tears form in her eyes, and she does nothing to stop them. There isn’t a point. It’s not like he can see her face anyway. She releases a silent gasp when fangs become buried deep in the muscle of her shoulder. Her fingers begin to tingle, and her head becomes hazy._

 

_She releases a silent sob. She knows what’s happening, but it seems like time is being cruel. She just wants it to hurry up and free her from this prison, but she remains trapped. Everything feels like it’s slowing down to an unbearable pace._

 

_Without warning, her body is roll from her stomach to her back. Her hazy eyes catch sight of three Kanatos that slowly merge into one, much like an old time cartoon. He’s leaning over her on all fours. His hands dig into her wrists, but all she feels is pressure and tingling. Her head lulls to the side allowing her to see her surroundings for the first time, and her heart starts to race._

 

_Dead grass and numerous, crumbling headstones surround her. It helps to finish driving the fact that she is dying home even harder. The tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes quickly becomes a flood. Through her haze of tears, she can see Teddy is sitting on a low, crumbling bench not far away. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see tattered clothing that is so caked in grime that she can’t tell what color they originally were. She tries to will her body to move, but it refuses to do anything other than steadily breathe._

 

_“I warned you,” Kanato hisses in her ear, anger evident in his voice. “I told you to stay away from Laito! You should have just listened!”_

 

_His voice raises a few octaves. “You betrayed me!”_

 

_His hands ball up in the front of her clothes, and he lifts her upper body a little, though she doesn’t remember him releasing her wrists. She knows what’s coming, but her body hurts so bad that she can’t bring herself to care. There isn’t anything that she can do to stop him anyway. There’s absolutely no strength left in her body. Regardless, pain and primal fear mix in the pit of her stomach when he slams her upper body into the dirt so hard she hears, rather than feels, the crack in the back of her head. Bile and blood rise in her throat, making a disgusting combination that she’s oddly familiar with. Unfortunately, she doesn't have the energy to expel it. Instead, it runs back down her throat and into her lungs when she subconsciously takes a shaky breath, causing her to feel like she's drowning. A warm, sticky liquid begins to pool around her head, causing her hair to mat. Once again, she feels her upper body being lifted and slammed into the dirt. She can hear Kanato screaming, but his words don't make sense. In the back of her mind, she hears a small voice pleading for it to stop. She loses count of how many times her head meets the ground, but it’s no longer making the cracking sound._

 

_Her eyes slide open to find hazy, disappointed purple ones only inches from hers. His breath brushes her face, but it doesn't hold it's usual chill. He leans back, but his face becomes increasingly fuzzy the further away he gets. It’s strange, but she doesn’t feel her chest moving. In fact, she doesn’t feel anything. She’s barely able to see his lips moving, but no sound comes out. A loving smile adorns his face. Everything starts to grow darker, a lot faster than before. The last thing she sees is his face approaching hers._

 

_Without warning, it feels like a fist is driven into her sternum, driving the air from her lungs and leaving that same burning sensation behind. In fact, it feels like she's on fire._

_________________________________________________

 

_Her eyes snap open, and panic fills her mind. She’s laying on her side instead of her back. The panic continues to grow when she finds only darkness surrounding her._

 

_Did she really die?_

 

_Despite wanting to whimper, her body doesn't cooperate. All that comes out is short, panicked breaths. She can feel her hands lifting only to crash painfully into something solid only three or four inches in front of her face. Her breathing becomes panicked, and she uses both hands, and even her knees, to feel around. Unfortunately, all she feels is something solid encasing her. A cold sweat forms on her skin._

 

_She releases a startled gasp when something heavy falls around her waist, drawing her against something hard and cold. Despite the fear still present, her body immediately relaxes. A puff of cold air brushes her ear in the form of a huff. That's when cold realization hits._

 

_She isn't dead, like she thought._

 

_What the hell is going on?_

 

_“Stop fucking wiggling,” a gruff voice growls against the back of her head. Once again, she finds herself wanting to do a variety of things, but her body doesn't cooperate. Instead, it starts to shake. A cold snarl causes her to flinch. She feels jerky movement before there is a light creaking sound, and a dim light floods her vision, granting her view of where she is. She doesn’t hesitate to look around her the best she can. It does little to calm her nerves to find herself inside a coffin. In fact, panic fills her mind, which causes an odd sensation since her body isn’t in panic mode. Unfortunately, she only gets a second to get her bearings before she is violently shoved out of the it. Her hands automatically move to break her fall._

 

‘No!’ _Mai finds herself shouting, but it has no effect. She lands heavily, and one of her wrists gives with a resounding popping sound. Pain shoots all the way to her elbow, and she releases a strangled whimper. She barely has time to rock back onto her knees before a pale hand roughly grasps the elbow of her injured hand. Her eyes shift to find her next surprise._

 

_Subaru is standing beside her. Against her will, she doesn’t protest when he pulls her roughly to her feet. A multitude of unfamiliar, incoherent thoughts race through her mind, causing Mai to feel even more confused._

 

_“Moron, you’ve dislocated it,” Subaru’s low rumble draws her full attention back to the present, or what she assumes is the present. She’s faintly aware of the whimpering that’s coming from her. While she studies his face, his eyes move from her wrist to meet her gaze. Despite not feeling surprised, a startled feeling jerks through the center of her being. Her mind gives a painful throb at the conflicting feelings._

 

_What is going on? Why is she seeing this? Is this even real?_

 

_His cold fingers intertwine with her throbbing ones. That should’ve been her warning. Much to her displeasure, her body doesn’t react to it. Instead, she seems to glean some sort of strange comfort from the simple touch._

 

_That’s until he gives her hand and elbow a sharp tug in opposite directions. Tears well up in her eyes, and a scream leaves her mouth this time. The resounding pop seems to echo off walls of the messy room around her. To her surprise, Subaru allows her to rip herself away from him. While cradling her aching limb to her chest, she scrambles backwards, over pieces of broken furniture and other debris until her back finds a wall. She hates herself for it, but she can feel herself curling up in a ball like some kind of wounded animal._

 

_An amused scoff draws her frustrated attention in Subaru’s direction. Cautiously, she peeks out from beneath an arm. He’s giving her an amused smirk from across the room. His fangs peek out from beneath his lip. She feels herself wondering if he was revealing it on purpose. His voice is full of mockry when he asks. “You’re pathetic, you know that? Why did he see fit to send you here this time? You aren’t going to last a week.”_

 

_“I….I don’t….” Mai hears the soft, watery voice coming from her. Like before, the voice isn’t hers, and she isn’t in control of her own mouth despite everything she tries. She feels a sense of frustration building up, but it does her no good. This time, she gives up much sooner and settles back to unwillingly watch the show. Just like before, there’s a haze of color, though she picks out more this time. She watches Subaru’s face run through a range of emotions. His mouth moves, but she’s unable to hear what he’s saying. Like a scratched dvd, it freezes before skipping forward. Her heart skips a beat when she sees him lifting a chair and throw it across the room. It viciously explodes against one wall, scattering chunks of wall and chair all over the room. She quickly cowers behind his overturned coffin to get out of range of his fury. Like before, it skips, and she finds herself waking up in the coffin more than she cares to. His arm is always wrapped around her waist, and she can’t decide if it’s a protective measure or just to keep her there._

 

_She has a sinking feeling it’s the latter._

 

_Like the previous one, she finds herself laying on her side in a puddle of blood, though she doesn’t know what happened. This time, her body isn’t numb. Her hands seek out her stomach, where the pain is. Warm, sticky blood pours out between her fingers when she finds a gaping hole, though she can’t even begin to guess what had caused it. Her mouth opens and closes, but all she can taste is blood, which makes her nauseous. Thankfully, she’s not drowning on the mixture this time. Just the thought is enough to disgust her even further. Another sharp pain draws her attention out of her own thoughts. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Subaru standing over her. One of his hands is covered in blood, contrasting in an eerily beautiful way with his pale skin, and there is an indescribable look on his face. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get long to look at him before he begins to fade to black, and a pleasant feeling of warmth spreads over her face, almost like the sun is shining down on her._

 

_Around and around she spins. Colors flash before her in a sickening swirl causing her eyes and head to hurt. Every so often she captures glimpses of the brothers, but it’s like watching a skipping dvd with no sound. She tries to focus on the images as they come, but they seem to float away the second she takes a moment to concentrate. This problem makes it so she can’t figure out what it is she’s seeing._

 

_In fact, she’s finding it harder to remember what her own name is, though she can’t figure out why that is. Her head throbs painfully, and she wants to reach up to touch it, but she can’t seem to find her hands. So many emotions that feel foreign swirl inside her, so she’s not even sure what she’s feeling._

 

“Mai.” That simple word sends a jolt through her body. She has a feeling deep inside her very being that she should know the name, but where did she hear it before? It doesn’t seem to matter how much she scrapes at faint, but very familiar, memories, they refuse to be more than just a mass of fuzziness in the back of her mind. Once more, she hears a soft, clearly male, voice call the name. It takes some effort, but she manages to make her eyes flutter open. She’s faintly aware of the fact that her head is laying on her arms in a hunched, uncomfortable position. From the corner of her eye, she can see desks lined in perfectly neat rows. Faces she doesn’t recognize appear to be looking at her. Some look amused; others look indifferent or appear to hold sympathy. She slowly lifts her head, which feels heavier than it should. Now that her head is upright, she can feel a wet substance on her arms and around one corner of her mouth. She slowly lifts a hand to wipe away the drool on her face, only to find that she had some on her cheek as well. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see a large window rests in one wall. Despite trying her best, she can’t figure out where she is.

 

“Are you still not feeling well, Mai?” She turns her attention to the stomach beside her before slowly looking upwards. Her eyes meet the face of an older man, who is giving her a concerned look. He turns to the other people in the room. “Go to lunch early.”

 

Like before, some seem excited; others don’t seem to care, but they all leave quickly. She tries to stand, but her legs feel shaky. A hand lands on her shoulder, and she slips back into her seat without a fight. Her attention returns to the teacher. That’s right. That’s what he is. She’s at school. Her thoughts are returned to him when he says in a low, concerned voice, “Stay here. I’m going to get someone to get you some lunch, while I go find the nurse and see what she thinks we should do with you. If I’m not back by the time you finish your lunch, I want to you go rest in the nurse’s office.”

 

She just nods, though she doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Her arms return to her desk, and her head falls forward. She’s not sure how much time passes, but she tries to allow herself to drift off. Unfortunately, she’s not able to do so. Her head keeps pounding in time with her heartbeat.

 

“Mai,” a voice whispers close to her ear. She doesn’t jump or even feel a jolt of surprise. In fact, all she feels is this overwhelming sense of numbness, almost like nothing matters anymore. She gathers enough energy to slowly lift her head to find the owner of the new voice. A boy is sitting backwards at the desk in front of her. There is a tray of unappetizing food in his hands. Her eyes rove over his vaguely familiar face, but his name doesn’t immediately come to her mind. His shaggy, black hair falls in front of his curious, grey eyes. A scar adorns the bridge of his nose and along his left cheek. He tilts his head a little, causing his unruly hair to shift, and allowing her eyes to be drawn to the bandages around his neck. She finds herself fascinated with the sight, though she doesn’t know why.

 

A gentle nudge from the cold tray has her dragging her arms off the desk, where the boy puts it down. Once again, she turns her gaze to the food. Despite not feeling like she’s eaten in a while, the food doesn’t look worth eating. Rough fingers very lightly brush the skin beneath her right eye, drawing her attention upward once more. In the back of her mind, she’s faintly aware that she should’ve jerked away, but she feels so tired and doesn’t honestly care about physical contact right now. She just wants to close her eyes forever. “You….. need…..food.”

 

Her tongue feels dry and larger than normal. Now that her mind is a little more awake, she’s aware of a horrible pain filling her throat with every breath. She closes her eyes and lets her body slump down in the chair. Her knees hit the legs of the desk, stopping her from sliding all the way off the chair. She tries to tell him to just leave her alone; that she’s in pain and just wants to sleep. A wave of tiredness starts to overwhelm her, causing a strange croak to leave her throat in place of words.

 

“Mai…” The dark haired boy says once more, but it’s hard for her to hear his soft voice now. She’s aware that he’s saying something, but she can’t make out what it is. It feels like she’s standing at the end of a long tunnel, and his soft voice doesn’t travel well.

 

She easily gives up trying. She isn’t really interested in what he has to say. It can’t be that important anyway.

 

____________________________________________________________________

 

_A sharp smell burns her nose, almost like chemicals. She finds herself staring dismally down into a cup of dark red tea. There is something definitely wrong with it, and she doesn’t want to try it. Her eyes slowly lift to look at the back of the man who seems to have staken claim on her. Her heart skips a beat, and a cold sweat breaks out over her skin. She’s been here for what feels like ages. The truth is that she lost count of the days._

 

_The soft clinking of the shaking teacup and saucer in her hand draws unwanted attention. The male before her turns to look at her. Mai’s breath sucks in, though she’s not sure that is what she meant to do. It’s getting harder to tell where she ended and these strange dreams began._

 

_Cold red eyes observer her, but he seems younger._

 

_Wait._

 

_That isn’t right, is it?_

 

_Reiji looked just like this when she arrived at the castle. Her drunk father had fallen on hard times and sold her to that strange man. Once away from her father, she was promised glory and riches, which she finds somewhat believable give that he certainly made her father wealthy. The thought leaves a bitter taste in her mouth. Thankfully, she doesn’t have time to dwell on her lost family. Instead, Reiji is speaking to her._

 

_“The tea is cold.” She feels every muscle in her body tense involuntarily, yet another strange sensation. She’s sure that she wasn’t the one to do it this time. Her attention is drawn back to Reiji when he turns to fully face her with a stern frown on his face. “That was brewed special for you. Is it not to your liking?”_

 

_She swallows a hard ball of fear that had become lodged in her throat. She_ **hated** _tea, and he knew this. She had made the mistake of telling him so that very first day. Instead of trying to remind him, she forces up a smile and lifts the cups to her lips. It tastes just as bad as it smells, and it seems to cover every inch of her mouth. It’s all she can do not to gag. Somehow she manages to suffer through the cup of tea in a matter of minutes. After she finishes, she’s careful to return the cup to the table beside her and offers him a smile. “It was delicious. Thank you.”_

 

_Manners mattered more than just about anything here. That was the first thing she learned when she came here. Always say please and thank you. Never ask for anything, since you are a guest. You take what is offered with a smile. Finish all the food given to you. Drink your tea, and don’t break anything. Pick up after yourself._

 

_Those were the simple rules. The back of her hands still bear the deep, black bruises from the ruler he frequently uses to punish her for her penmanship, though she isn’t sure why it matters so much. Nothing the dark haired vampire does makes any sense to her._

 

_Maybe she really is as stupid as he says._

 

_She stares at her hands, which are folded neatly on her lap. This is the worst part of her day. She’d sit for hours just waiting for something to happen. Like so many times before, the seconds tick by, but nothing happens. She finally works up the courage to slowly lift her gaze from her hands to find that he is still watching her. An almost amused smile has settled on his face, which frightens her more than his stern looks. He slowly approaches and reaches out to gently pick up the teacup and saucer. She frowns up at him until it strikes her. Every muscle in her body becomes painfully stiff, and she’s unable to keep herself from falling forward. It’s not a surprise to find he doesn’t lift a hand to help her. Instead, he steps to the side, allowing her to fall face first on the floor._

 

_The world pitches horribly, flooding her vision with an assortment of colors. She doesn’t see any other images this time. She comes to an abrupt halt and finds herself leaning over a toilet. Blood pours from her mouth in place of vomit. Every muscle in her body aches horribly. The tell tale sign that she’s going to vomit again hits hard, and she wraps her arms around the toilet in order to lean forward to throw up even more blood before weakly slipping backwards. Deep puncture marks cover her neck and shoulders, though she’s not sure how she knows that since she can’t see her own neck. Her body gives a violent shudder when she hits the hard, tile floor._

 

_“Pathetic,” a cold voice says from the other side of the room. She’s not sure how, but she manages to roll onto her side to look at him._

 

_The feeling of betrayal hurts worse than the pain ripping at her insides. She loves him, but he just cast her aside. She has bore so much of his abuse and experiments. She did everything he asked of her without question, but it wasn’t enough. Apparently, she wasn’t the ‘one’, whatever that meant. His arms are crossed over his chest, and he seems to be regarding her much like one would regard a broken toy._

 

_She lets out a soft groan; the second her mouth opens, blood pours forth. She hears him sigh, followed by his footsteps. His voice echoes through the bathroom. “You won’t last much longer. Since you entertained me for a bit, I suppose I could show you a bit of mercy.”_

 

_Her vision has grown dark by this point, so she’s not sure how it happens. At first, there is a blinding pain that makes her choke on the blood in her throat, but it’s quickly followed by a blissful sense of nothingness. How long has it been since she didn’t feel pain?_

 

_______________________________________________________________

 

She’s faintly aware that she’s laying in bed, but she doesn’t know who it belongs to. She can feel a cold hand brushing her forehead, but she doesn’t know who it is either. Her eyes slowly open to look up into the eyes of a young blonde girl with green eyes. An amused look adorns her face. Just over the girl’s shoulder, there is a green haired male with a cold expression.

 

“Sleep, my dear,” the girl says. “How cruel of them to show you such horrible images. You don’t have long.”

 

Her cold hands feel pleasant against Mai’s burning forehead. She leans into the touch and lets herself return to the land of dreams.

 

_________________________________________________________________

 

_“Hey! Hey!” An obnoxious voice yells in her ear. She snarls loudly and spins to glare at the red haired boy with green eyes. He towers over her much smaller frame, but that hasn’t stopped her from standing up for herself yet._

 

_“What now, Ayato?” Hatred boils to the surface at the cheeky grin he gives her._

 

_“Make Yours Truly some food, shorty,” he says. He lifts his chin a little, giving her an arrogant look. She narrows her eyes at him, but she didn’t feel like doing their usual run around today. She had loads of things to do, and Ayato always got his way one way or another. A lesson she has been learning the hard way. He leans closer to her face, so she turns away. The sooner she fed him, the sooner she could get back to her studying._

 

_“Fine, just give me a minute,” she mutters under her breath. She makes the mistake of turning her gaze back to her textbook. It disappears before her eyes, and she has to spin to catch a glimpse of Ayato disappearing out the door with a snicker. This has become an every night occurrence, and her grades were showing it. In fact, she’s failing more classes than she’s passing._

 

Unfortunately, she doesn’t get to see the rest of that dream. It just ends in a splash of red and pain. A cold hand is shaking her awake. She releases a soft groan and rolls away. To her surprise, she’s able to easily brush the cold hand away.

 

“This is all she does,” a strange, almost lusty sounding voice says.

 

“I see,” yet another familiar voice says in a bored tone. Her eyes open to stare through a door into a bathroom that is hauntingly familiar.

 

_I died on that floor_. The thought crosses her mind, and she feels her body shift once more. Wait, who died? She can feel herself breathing, so she can’t be dead. A cold hand runs fingers through her hair, causing a sense of calm to flow through her. She shifts a little to look over her shoulder. Shaggy red hair and green eyes fill her vision. A playful smile spreads over her face. Her eyes flick over the room, but she doesn’t see who he was talking to. Her eyes turn back to the boy. She has a feeling that she should know him, but his name seems to escape her. He eases himself down until he’s laying behind her. His voice has an alluring lull to it. “Are they bothering you?”

 

His words don’t make sense, so she simply lays there. He releases a soft, cold chuckle against the skin of her shoulder. His arm falls heavily around her waist and draws her up to his body. She can feel his face becoming buried in her hair, near her neck. The thought sends a cold jolt down her spine, but she can’t quite figure out why that is.

 

A pleasant thrill runs through her body the second his cold lips close over her throat. Darkness creeps around the edges of her vision.

 

_________________________________________________________________

 

_Soft breaths puff against the back of her head. A sense of comfort slowly wakes her. She’s faintly aware of the knocking on the door. A groan behind her finishes waking her. She shifts enough to stretch while listening to Reiji telling them to get dressed. Impatience is clear in his voice, leading her to believe this isn’t the first time he’s knocked. She’s vaguely aware of Reiji saying something along the lines of ‘Their father would be in today, and Shuu is required to attend’. A groan against her ear is the only answer Reiji is graced with. An arm falls over her waist drawing her closer._

 

_“So warm,” he mutters against her ear. She flinches at how close he is and shifts uncomfortably. He hasn’t done anything to her, but it still doesn’t feel right to sleep next to a guy she barely knows. She’s only been living in this haunted house for a couple of months, and she has yet to see why everyone in town calls it that._

 

_She reaches down to grab the unnaturally cold hand and proceeds to try to pull it off. She’s not sure if he’s resisting, or if his arm is just really heavy, but she can’t seem to get free. Making sure to keep her voice  barely audible, she whispers, “Shuu, he sounds really mad.”_

 

_She gets as much of a response as Reiji did. As frustrating as it is, it’s the only answer she ever gets from him. She still isn't sure how she ended up in this predicament, but it shows no signs of ever letting up._

 

_After all, she didn’t have a family anymore._

 

_The thought sends a wave of sadness over her, but she doesn’t let it hold her down long. There isn’t much of a point. Feeling sad or crying won’t bring back what she’s lost. A shudder still runs through her, and tears well up._

 

_She ‘ll never admit it, but she ‘s absolutely terrified of her current situation. Running away seemed like a good option at first, but she hasn’t found time to try. It seems like the second she wanders toward the door, someone appears. Besides, she has a feeling she was kidnapped, since the man who found her after the funeral brought her home as a ‘present’ to his oldest son. She isn't naive. She knows what that is supposed to mean. The only sense of relief she finds is in the fact that the blonde boy doesn’t seem the least bit interested in using her any way other than a teddy bear or a heater._

 

_Like so many times before, she wonders why he feels so unnaturally cold. After a bit of wiggling, she manages to end up on her back so she can look at the boy. Mai feels the heart in her body skip a beat at the sight beside her. Shuu’s face is a relaxed mask of innocence that causes Mai's guard to lower against her will._

 

_How can anything go wrong? She’s much better fed than she ever was with her family. Sure the others aren’t exactly gentle, but they seem to keep their distance most of the time._

 

Her eyes flutter open for a moment. She finds herself laying on her back, causing a sense of deja vu to wash over her. The sun is warming her face, but it doesn’t cause the chill to leave her body. She can’t tell if she’s dreaming still or if she’s awake. What’s happening to her? She swallows hard. Pain races up and down her throat, leaving it feeling dry. She forces herself to roll onto her side.

 

Warmth slowly spreads through her body, and she’s faintly aware of the sound of someone humming a vaguely familiar song nearby; however, she can’t find energy to try to listen. Her body gets that heavy feeling which sometimes happens right before sleep, and she finds herself sinking right back into the dream.

 

Or is it reality?

 

_The pillowcase placed over her head feels gentle everytime it brushes her cheeks or neck, but it does little to help quell the fear gnawing a hole in her stomach. Unbidden, a whimper leaves her half open mouth. All she can taste is the iron taste of blood in her mouth. Her loud, gasping breathes keep her from hearing anything else aside from her stomach growling. How long has it been since she last ate? Every so often, the pillow case is lifted enough to allow her a drink of water. The muscles in her arms have stopped aching, but she isn’t sure when that happened. The days have merged together into one pain filled haze._

 

_She shifts to try to find a more comfortable position, but it turns out to be a waste of energy. Her hands are tied above her head, keeping her in an upright position, though she has sagged for so long she’s afraid that she may have hurt her muscles. Dried blood cakes her wrists and forearms from her original thrashing._

 

_She has dried blood along her thighs, back, and stomach where the whip had cruelly cut into her skin. She has no idea who was hurting her, and she doesn’t know why either. That makes it so much worse. One moment she ‘s sleeping beside Shuu, the next she’s in tattered clothing in a foul smelling place and is being tortured._

 

_She isn’t sure how much time has passed, and she isn’t sure how much longer she can hold on. Between the smell of blood and human waste, she feels both thrilled and scared at the numbness that is eating away at her consciousness. Where is Shuu?_

 

_She has asked herself that so many times she lost count. Despite her refusal to believe it, it has become painfully clear. She means nothing to him. They haven’t shared much, since she hasn’t gone out of her way to make friends with him, but she didn’t think he’d be cruel enough to let her die._

 

_A shudder runs through her, and a morbid thought crosses her mind._

 

_She‘s about to die. She knows it should bother her, but she finds she has accepted it. Maybe she accepted it the moment her passed away, and  she was taken away. She shifts once more, or at least she thinks she does. She’s not sure of anything anymore._

 

_“What a waste of time,” a familiar voice sighs. She weakly lifts her head in the direction of the noise out of habit. She can’t see him through the pillowcase. “I should’ve known that good-for-nothing wouldn’t care for such a pathetic toy.”_

 

_She swallows weakly but doesn’t respond. She doesn’t have the strength, nor can she think of anything to say. Her mind is finally ebbing away into a sweet, but bitter, darkness. She lets out a weak shudder. She faintly aware of the fact that the man’s voice is drifting away. “I wonder how he’ll react when I lay his broken toy outside his door.”_

 

_Without warning, the pillow case is ripped off her head just in time for the last thing she sees to be Reiji’s frown._

 

____________________________________________________________________

 

Her eyes slowly open to find an eerie silence surrounding her. She jerks upright just in time for laughter to explode around her. She looks around in a panic. Where is she? Who is she? All the faces she sees are unfamiliar, so is her surrounds. She feels sick, sore, and completely confused. Finally, her eyes turn to find an adult body blocking part of her view, sending a wave of deja vu through her chest. Slowly, she lifts her gaze up to find a frowning adult man.

 

“Did you have a good nap?” The impatience is almost palpable in his voice, though she can see hints of concern on his face. Laughter erupts at his question once more, but a sharp look from the teacher silences them all. Her mouth opens and closes a few times. “If you are still not feeling well, you shouldn’t have came to school. You are being a disruption to class.”

 

She doesn’t pay the teacher much mind. She’s busy trying to figure out what is going on. Slowly, everything comes back to her, though there are fresh memories she doesn’t remember having before. Suddenly, she feels sick. A hand flies to her mouth, but all she does is dry heave. Exclamations of disgust replace the previous amusement. It takes a moment, but the teacher manages to regain the class’ attention. His eyes turn to look down at Mai once more. It seems as if he’s determining what to do with her. “Do you think you can make it to the nurses office? Or do you need help?”

 

“I’ll take her,” a hauntingly familiar voice calls from the back of the room. Mai’s eyes slowly turn to find Shiro giving her an almost determined stare.

 

Without meaning to, she lets out a gasp of “No!”.

 

An eerie silence settles over the room, and a quick glance around shows that everyone is giving her an awkward stare. Her gaze flicks around before landing on a familiar face, but her heart sinks at the beautiful smile on his face. Kou gives her a wink, as if daring her to ask for his help. Just the thought of having to deal with his fan club later sends a shudder down her spine. Her gaze leaps away once again before settling on another familiar boy. He’s glowering at her, somehow reminding her of Subaru.

 

An array of foreign memories begins to flood her mind, making it hard to concentrate. She feels a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her, but she can’t make sense of the words the person is saying. Fear coats her mouth in a foul tasting substance. She shudders hard and tries to shove the memories from her mind.

 

“I’ll be fine. I can make it there on my own,” she hoarsely mutters. She places her hands flat on her desk and pushes herself upright. The world spins, and she feels bile rising this time. She must have swayed because a hand grabs her shoulder in order to steady her. She reluctantly turns her gaze back up to the teacher. His frustration has been completely replaced by concern. His lips move, but she can’t seem to understand what he’s saying. She slowly shakes her head. It takes more effort than she cares to admit, but it takes even more just to say. “Not Shiro. Not now.”

 

Slowly, everything comes back into focus. The teacher’s voice is the first thing she hears “...ke her to the nurse. The rest of you just read the next section in the textbook. I’ll b-”

 

“I’ll be fine,” Mai mutters. She doesn’t give the teacher a chance to argue. She quickly collects her abnormally heavy books, backpack and wobbles to the door. Before she has a chance to juggle her books around to open the door, an arm reaches over her shoulder to open it for her. She inwardly cringes when she sees the sleeves are rolled up. She doesn’t bother saying thank you; she just slips out the door and makes her way toward the nurses office as fast as she dares. She hears the teacher saying something, but she doesn’t listen. His words weren’t making much sense anyway. She just focuses on lifting one foot and putting it in front of the other.

 

She sees movement out of the corner of her eye. Before she has a chance to glance in that direction, the weight of her books disappear. She wobbles awkwardly at the new found freedom. Unfortunately, she’s unable to catch herself and ends up sprawling on the hard floor of the school hallway. Yuma’s laughter echoes off the walls, and she can feel a blush of embarrassment rising to her cheeks. Still, she’s afraid to move right away, since she feels like throwing up due to the fresh wave of dizziness. Sadly, she doesn’t seem to get much say in the matter when a large hand tightly wraps around her upper arm. Pain laces up her shoulder when she is jerked upright by one arm. She releases a hiss, but he doesn’t seem to care. He releases her before she has her balance, causing her to stumble once again.

 

“For fuck’s sake, are you stupid?” Yuma’s large hand presses against her stomach when she stumbles forward. To her surprise, the pressure doesn’t make her want to hurl, so she unwillingly allows him to support her weight for a moment while she gets her balance back under control. Once she is confident she won’t fall again, she puts one hand on his forearm, near his elbow, and the other finds his wrist. She pushes herself away from his cold hand and carefully turns to give him her best forced smile.

 

“Thank you,” she manages to coldly say between gritted teeth. For an instant, she feels almost bad for being so rude to him. He hadn’t done anything other than try to help her. She doesn’t get a chance to dwell on it, or even think about whether she should apologize or not. A splitting pain runs through her head, making it feel like her skull is being split in half with a dull axe. She lets out a whimper of pain and quickly turns her gaze away. Bile rises once again, and she reluctantly decides she might need help. “I’m…sorry, Yuma. I’m not…. I think I need….”

 

She can’t bring herself to finish her sentence, but she isn’t sure why. Is it silly pride getting in the way? The seconds slip away in a tense silence before he lets out a almost amused sounding grunt. She slowly lifts her gaze up to look at him. She has to crane her head back quite a bit, since he easily towers over her. She swallows hard at the sight. If she were to be honest, he never looked more intimidating than he did now. He takes a step closer to her. Thankfully, he seems grasp the concept of a personal bubble better than Ayato, Laito, or Kanato seem to. His body doesn’t touch hers, and he doesn’t seem to be openly threatening her. Still, she can’t help shrinking away like she does with all the others. Her silent praise that he knows what a personal bubble is goes out the window when he leans his face so close to hers that she feels her breath hitch in her throat. She gives him her best glare, but it seems to be wasted on him. Much to her displeasure, it appears he’s inspecting her face for something.

 

“What happened to you? Ruki was positive you were going through the change.” His eyes narrow a little, and a frown begins to form over his face.

 

“I…. I don’t…. What?” She isn’t sure what she’s supposed to say here. He grunts in apparent disappointment and straightens up. She watches him visibly tense before glancing over his shoulder. What he sees causes him to curse harshly.  She leans a little to look around the large vampire. Her heart stops when she finds Shiro standing outside the closed classroom door. She only gets to register the fact that he looks furious before she feels something wrap around her waist. Much to her frustration, she’s not given time to look down before she’s swept upward. Her stomach hits Yuuma’s shoulder so hard it drives the air from her lungs in a startled whoosh. She’s so stunned she can’t even muster up the strength to begin struggling.

 

“Mai!” Shiro’s voice echos off the walls.

 

The world spins for a second, but it doesn’t make her any sicker than she already feels. For a warning, she only gets a shift in position before she is unceremoniously dumped onto the uncomfortable bed in the nurse’s office. She lets out a cry of pain followed by a soft groaning sound. She rolls onto her side in order to turn her back to him just in time to hear the chair scraping the floor. She glances over her shoulder to see him sitting in the chair the wrong way, with the back between his legs. His elbow rests on the top, with his cheek resting against his knuckles. His eyes are narrowed at her, but it’s not like he’s glaring, more like he’s trying to figure something out. Before she can fully think through the consequences, she snaps. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

 

He gives her a grin that reveals sharp fangs, causing her to shudder and turn away once again. It’s clear he’s silently threatening her, and she doesn’t plan on provoking him. After all, he just carried her books in one hand and easily threw her over his shoulder with the other. The thought sends another shudder down her spine. She wiggles an arm under her pillow in order to rest her head on it, while the other lightly rests in front her face. A couple of louding thudding sounds causes her to jump, but she doesn’t look back. She has a sneaking suspicion Yuma just dropped her books on the floor without a single care. The hair on the back of her neck starts to stand in such a way that lets you know someone is watching you. She shifts uncomfortably and says in a voice which is clearly strained. “Yuma, I can’t rest with you staring at me like that. Is there something you need?”

 

“Get over it,” is the gruff reply she gets. She rolls her eyes, sucks in a breath to retort, but decides she’s too tired to bother fighting him. At the same time, she’s afraid to fall asleep. What if those dreams come back, and she really loses herself this time? What would she do?

 

She feels tears begin to well up in her eyes. Her teeth find her lip, and she bites hard, determined not to make a sound. Thankfully, the two of them are able to sit there in silence. It starts out incredibly awkward, due to Mai fighting tears, but it slowly settles into a bearble one. It gives her time to fully process what happened inside her dreams.

 

After a while of deep thought, a wave of tiredness threatens to overwhelm her. It’s not just physical exhaustion either. She releases a slow breath, but it doesn't help anything. Slowly, she rolls onto her back and stares at the ceiling. Finally, she decides to not ignore Yuuma any longer and carefully turns her head to look in his direction. To her surprise, he's not looking at her anymore. His bored gaze is now focused on the wall on the other side of her bed. She silently wonders if she should disturb him. Finally, she decides to her curiosity is too much and asks. “Why are you still here?”

 

He turns his gaze on her, and he gives her a threatening grin once more. He straighten in his chair and says “Well, it's expected of us. Your guard took off on you, after all.”

 

Mai finds herself staring blankly at him. She has to physically bite her tongue to keep from asking “huh?” in her usual manner. Her clear struggle just seems to amuse the vampire. The smile grows, making her heart to race. A cold sweat begins to cover her body, and she can practically taste her own fear. She forces her eyes away from him. As soon as she looks at her blanket clad legs, a pain races through her head, and she feels sick to her stomach. She closes her eyes to fight the naeusa. Her hands find the sides of her head, and her nails begin to bite into her scalp. Overlapping images begin to pile over one another behind her eyelids. She feels her body violently dry heave, but she finds herself powerless to stop herself. She hears a distant voice, but she’s not sure who it is, nor can she understand them.

 

_________________________________________________________________

 

Her eyes snap open, and she finds herself looking at a bright, unfamiliar ceiling. She rolls onto her side to find an empty chair sitting beside her bed. She frowns at it for a moment before memories slowly surface. Yuuma’s smirk floats to the surface, and frustration fills her body.

 

She lifts a hand to shield her eyes, and her thoughts begin to race. She can feel every muscle in her body. She must have slept tensed up. Her thoughts quickly drift from her aching muscles to more pressing matters. What is she going to do? What can she do? What is happening to her?

 

She cautiously sits up, hissing under her breath. Thankfully, the pain starts to ebb away the more she uses her muscle, so she takes a moment to stretch each and every one. While doing so, she casts a quick glance around her while listening hard. She can’t hear or see any signs that anyone is around. Her next step is to slowly climb out of bed. To her surprise, she doesn’t feel any pain at this point. She finds her bag sitting on the chair Yuuma had previously preoccupied. Her books are stacked inside, so she figures the nurse is likely around somewhere. After all, she can’t see Yuuma cleaning up after her, even if he’s the one who threw her textbooks on the floor. She decides she’s lingered long enough, scoops it up and hurries out into the brightly lit school hallway. She pauses for a moment look around. Somehow, it seems eerie to see it during the day. Her eyes find a nearby window, and she frowns. She must have slept for quite a while if it’s so bright out. With hurried footsteps, she makes her way toward the exit.

 

The sounds and smells of the city hit her full in the face the second she’s outside. She has to stifle a gag. Her hand flies to her mouth, and her eyes screw shut tightly. She feels a shudder run down her spine. This isn’t how she remembers the daylight being. Maybe her head is still tender? That would explain why the sounds were hurting.

 

Before she gets a chance to convince herself it’s just a bad headache, a large, hot hand wraps around the wrist of the hand covering her mouth. She jumps and releases a startled scream. Her eyes snap open, and she’s met with an unpleasant sight. Shiro’s face is inches from her own. A cold, yet somehow concerned, look covers his face. His breath feels warm against her face. “Mai.”

 

She jerks backwards, but his hand stays wrapped around her wrist, effectively halting her retreat. She feels her heart leap into her throat, and her breath hitches. His grip feels tight, but she doesn’t feel any pain from it. Her eyes lock with his, and his cold expression melts away. He gives her a desperate look. His voice is barely audible. In fact, she has to strain to hear it. “Please, Mai. It’s not too late. Please come with me.”

 

She stubbornly shakes her head. A car horn sounds close by, momentarily distracting her. Her gaze flicks in that direction. Her body flinches when the sun bounces off the metal frames of several cars. Pain sears behind her eyes at the blinding sight. She feels a tug and returns her attention to Shiro. At the sight of her friend, a strange, indescribable feeling starts in the pit of her stomach and quickly bubbles upward. His image blurs, and she’s startled to find she’s tearing up.

 

Suddenly, she feels so overwhelmed by everyone and everything around her. She has so many hazy memories floating under the surface that she can’t effectively focus on anything. The sounds of people yelling, and the smell of cars is making her feel sick. She lifts her free hand to wipe at the tears that manage to escape. “Shiro….”

 

She startled by how hoarse her voice sounds. Apparently he’s just as surprised, since he loosens his grip on her wrist. She doesn’t waste any time in ripping her wrist out of his hand and retreating a couple of steps. To her surprise, he doesn’t even fight. He just stares at her with an indescribable emotion written on his face and in his eyes. She fixes a teary glare on his face and tries to focus her thoughts. She clears her throat and shoulders her bag. “Shiro, that’s enough.”

 

His face shifts into one of pure sadness. “Listen. I can help you. I know I can. Come with me.”

 

He stretches out a hand. She doesn’t even bother glancing at it. Her eyes remain focused on his face. Despite what he’s done, he’s still her friend. He’s trying to help her just because he cared.

 

Sadly, he can’t, not now. This has nothing to do with her wanting to save Yui anymore. She has dug herself a deep, dark hole, and now she can’t see the light. She watches his concerned face blur again. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but she knows she’s slowly losing her place in the human world.

 

Or maybe she has already lost it. Look at how she’s reacting to the human world happening around her right now. It’s suffocating her. She swallows the lump in her throat and fights her tears with all her might. A confusing sense of relief starts to spread from her fingertips, slowly overwhelming her pain and fear. She knew where she belonged now.

 

Her voice cracks when she says. “You’re wrong, Shiro. It’s too late.”

 

He sucks in a sharp breath and takes a step toward her. “Mai….”

 

She cuts him off with a shake of her head. “No. Don’t. Just don’t. Thank you for trying, but it’s too late. I don’t want to leave.”

 

“That’s not true!” Shiro’s voice is louder than she’s ever heard it. There is a desperate note to it, as well. His warm hands wrap around her upper arms, near her shoulders, and he gives her a firm shake. “This is an illness! It’s stockholm syndrome! You’re sympathizing with them! That’s all! It’s happened to plenty of people before! You don’t have to be afraid! You can leave! They can’t hurt you if you leave! We will protect you!”

 

She lets him shake her without resisting. A weird tickle starts in the pit of her stomach before slowly bubbling upwards. Without realizing it, she finds herself laughing. It sounds insane, even to her own ears. She feels him let go, so she hunches over to hold her stomach. She hears him take a couple of steps back, but it does nothing to stop her laughter. She’s not even sure why she’s laughing, but it just feels so good to just give in, to just give up completely.

 

Tears stream down her face, but she’s not sure if they are from the laughter or the amount of relief she’s feeling. She’s not sure how long this goes on, but she’s finally able to reign herself in. She straightens and wipes the tears from her face, but they continue to slowly work their way down her face. Choosing to ignore the fresh ones, she refocuses on Shiro to find a guarded look on his face now. She offers him her best forced smile and says softly. “Don’t worry about me, Shiro. I’ll be fine.”

 

“They are going to kill you,” he states bluntly. She almost scoffs, but she manages to bite it back. She releases a sigh and forces her feet to start moving. Despite her new discovery, there’s still so much to think about, and so much to do. One thing is for sure thought, she has to deal with Cordelia, first and foremost.

 

Laito’s face devoid of emotion floats to the front of her mind, solidifying the resolve. She’d do it for Yui, Ayato, Kanato, and Laito.

 

“It won’t matter in the end,” she mutters. She hears Shiro say something else, but the sun is starting to make her head hurt again. She increases her pace without looking back.

 

Looks like it’s time to go home.

__________________________________________________________________

 

She slowly drags herself up to the door of the mansion. Her breaths come out in ragged pants, and her hair is annoyingly sticking to the sides of her face, as well as her forehead. In fact, even her clothes are sticking to places she never thought about before. She feels overheated, disgusting, and irritable. Her headache has gotten so much worse on the walk home. She bites back a groan when her stomach releases a loud rumble. At least, she has an appetite now.

 

Her eyes stare at the door for the longest time, while she catches her breath. Finally, she reaches out and touches the door. It swings open without much pressure. It always makes her uneasy, but the rush of cool air quickly eases those feelings. She steps through the doorway into the dark mansion. A relieved smile spreads over her face, and she lets her backpack slide off her shoulder. It lands with an echoing thud that’s quickly drowned out by the door shutting. She closes her eyes and lets her head fall back. She inhales the cool air. Every muscle in her body begins to relax.

 

Unfortunately, her relief is short lived. As her body cools, she can feel the sweat beginning to dry, causing a disgusting almost sticky sensation. Without a second thought about her backpack, she wanders deeper into the mansion. Her feet lead her straight to the room was loaned to her before.

 

She’s sure to scrub every in of skin, along with her hair. Once she is satisfied she is clean, she stands underneath the stream and lifts her face upward. The warm water feels so amazing she almost doesn’t want get out. Thankfully, she’s able to pry herself from it. It doesn’t take her long to find a set of her own clothes. A pair of baggy sweats and an oversized t-shirt is her chosen attire. Right in the middle of dressing she freezes.

 

Wasn’t she wearing one of Subaru’s shirts at some point?

 

What happened to it?

 

Panic sets in, which is followed by frustration. She yanks the last bit of her clothing on with a huff. She can’t remember if she was wearing it for real or in the dream. Either way, it won’t help to dwell on it. Even if she were really wearing it, it’s gone now. Once dressed, she drifts back into the bathroom to run brush through her hair, not bothering to dry it. The second she’s done, she finds herself staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes narrow, and she leans closer. She can’t describe it, but she feels different. Yet, she can’t actually find any **_actual_ ** differences. Her eyes scan every inch of her face, neck, and shoulders.

 

She still can’t seem to find the source of the feeling.

 

She rolls her eyes when her stomach releases a loud growl and pulls away from the mirror. If she hasn’t found out what makes her different yet, she likely won’t. With one last frown at herself, she turns away to begin her trek to the kitchen, where she stumbles upon an unexpected surprise.

 

A blonde girl has her back to Mai, clearly cooking. She must have made some kind of noise, since the girl visibly jumps. She feels every muscle in her body tense, and time seems to slow as the girl turns to face Mai.

 

Much to Mai’s relief, a red gaze meets Mai’s. An array of emotions flood her body in the matter of seconds. There’s excitement, confusion, and feelings of caution. She finds herself unable to even try to say anything, though her mouth does opens and closes a couple of times. Everything seems to sink in quicker for Yui, since she seems to materialize inches from Mai before wrapping her in a tight hug. Unfortunately, Mai is too stunned to do anything other than stiffly stand there.

 

Finally, she manages to softly ask, “Is…. is this real?”

 

Yui pulls back, allowing Mai to get a quick look at the girl. She seems to be doing fine, much to Mai’s relief. That’s when she realizes something smells absolutely mouthwatering. She peeks around Yui to see a pot sitting on the stove.

 

“Oh,” Yui says softly, drawing Mai’s attention back to her friend. A smile has already spread over Yui’s face, and she turns back to attend whatever she is cooking. “Are you hungry?”

 

Mai’s eyes drift back to Yui before nodding softly. She finds a spot at the small table in the kitchen to sit down. Despite herself, she finds herself watching Yui’s back, fully expecting the girl to suddenly change. The silence slowly becomes suffocating, but Mai can’t bring herself to break it. Thankfully, Yui doesn’t seem to have that problem, since she begins to sing softly under her breath. Mai strains to hear what it is. At first, it doesn’t make any sense, then she realizes what it is. She turns her gaze down to the table and just listens to the hymns the blonde sings for a couple of minutes. Finally, she’s able to organize her thoughts into a coherent question, so she lifts her gaze and asks it. “Yui, is that really you?”

 

Yui turns to look over her shoulder with curiosity filling red eyes. After a couple of seconds of tense silence, her eyes seem to melt away into sadness. She turns her gaze turns back to her task at hand. Mai’s fists ball up in her sweats, but she can’t find anything to say. The seconds tick into minutes. Finally, a breathy sigh from her side causes Mai to jump. She turns just in time to get a face full of soft, blonde hair. His head comes to rest against her shoulder, and his side presses against hers. Every muscle in her body tenses, and she lifts an arm to press her elbow into his side. She doesn’t dig it in, but she hopes it’s enough pressure to annoy him enough to move. He releases a soft moan, but he otherwise doesn’t move an inch, causing her to grit her teeth.

 

“Shuu, please get up,” she states as sternly as she can.

 

“Troublesome,” he breathes out. She can practically feel her lip curl back in a silent snarl. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get a chance to retort to him, since a chuckle draws her attention back to her friend. Yui’s actually facing her this time, and she’s holding two plates of steaming delicious smelling food. Mai’s heart starts to sink. Relaxing times like these are so dangerous. It’s easy to lose sight of the nightmare going on around her. The plate being gently placed the plate in front of her draws her from her thoughts. The aroma causes Mai’s stomach to release a loud growl, and her mouth starts to water.

 

“So noisy,” Shuu states. Mai rolls her eyes and Yui giggles. This time, Mai digs her elbow into his ribs.

 

“Get off me, Shuu. I’m trying to eat,” Mai states sternly once more. Just as she starts to move him off her, he suddenly becomes heavier. “Hey! Didn’t you hear me? Don’t lean on me!”

 

She finds herself struggling to keep herself upright under the weight of the blonde vampire. She even has to resort to grabbing the table in front of her and wrapping her legs around the chair legs. “Shuu! What the hell?!”

 

“So noisy,” he complains softly. Mai releases a loud frustrated growl that’s quickly drowned out by Yui’s laughter. Mai’s not sure how long she struggles under Shuu’s weight while Yui laughs, but her friend finally deems it fit to come to her rescue.

 

“Shuu, are you hungry?” Mai gives the blonde girl a cold stare, since she can still hear the laughter in her friend’s voice.

 

“Don’t reward bad behavior, Yui,” Mai states without any emotion in her tone. The blonde erupts into giggles, once more. Sadly, Shuu doesn’t rise to her bait.

 

“No,” he simply states. Mai turns her attention back to the top of his blonde head, giving it her harshest glare, but, like her comment, it’s sadly lost on him.

 

“Why don’t you go lay down on your bed? You’ll be more comfortable,” Yui says. Mai reluctantly turns her attention back to her friend only to find she’s already eating her own food. Yui gives Mai a smile that’s clearly suppose to come off as sympathetic, but it comes off as full of laughter. Mai’s eyes narrow, but she decides not to say anything. Yui’s actually trying to help, and Mai doesn’t want to scare her off.

 

“Troublesome,” Shuu mutters in a barely audible voice, and Mai turns her frustrated glare back on him.

 

“Don’t you dare go to sleep,” she growls. Her gaze snaps back to Yui when she hears laughter. Yui quickly cuts it off, but she doesn’t look apologetic at all. In fact, she appears to be enjoying herself.

 

“Shuu? Why don’t you go lay on the couch, then? It’s pretty close,” Yui suggests before sticking some stir fry in her mouth.

 

“Troublesome,” Shuu groans once again. Mai feels every vein in her body come alive with the amount of irritation coursing through her. “I’m comfy here.”

 

“I’m not,” Mai states bluntly. “And I’d like to eat.”

 

Her answer his him shifting a little, but he still doesn’t ease up any of the weight he’s put on her. Yui seems to regard them thoughtfully before turning her attention on Mai. “Is it so bad that he’s leaning on you?”

 

“I’m. Not. A. Pillow.” Mai states between clenched teeth. Unfortunately, her anger is lost on her friend, since red eyes shift to regard the lazy vampire once more.

 

“Shuu, can you at least not put as much weight on her? She’s trying to eat after all. She might be less cranky if she has a free hand.”

 

Unable to not snap at her friend, Mai decides to bite back her response. Silence fills the room for what feels like hours before Shuu finally moves enough weight off that Mai feels safe to release the table and chair. She’s just about to give him a violent shove when Yui stops her with a sharp kick to the shin. Mai releases a loud hiss of pain before glaring at her friend. She’s reconsidering snapping when Yui gives her a pleasant smile. “Just let him lean on you. He’s not going to move. You know how stubborn he can get. Just let him do what he wants, and he won’t bother you.”

 

Mai grits her teeth, but she figures her friend is probably right, and her food is getting cold. She turns her attention to her plate and tries to ignore Shuu the best she can. Instead, she focuses solely on taking her food one bite at a time and savoring it.

 

She’s not sure why, but halfway through her meal, she happens to look up at her friend. What she sees destroys what little appetite she has left. Why didn’t she notice the deep purple circles around the blonde’s eyes before. Or the fact that she’s paler than normal? Even her hands are shaking. She looks exhausted. Mai finds herself watching her friend sadly before finally managing to softly ask, “Yui?”

 

“I’m so scared,” Yui says in a watery voice. She drops her silverware and covers her face. She releases a soft sob. Mai feels Shuu stir beside her, but he returns to breathing softly, so she’s not sure if he’s awake or not. She sets down her own utensils and reaches across the table to awkwardly pat Yui’s forearm.

 

“It’s… I….” The words die before they even come out. What can she do? What can she say that isn’t just empty words? To be honest, there is only one thing. “I’m here.”

 

“It’s so dark. I feel like I’m suffocating. The darkness runs up my nose and down my throat! There’s just… just this fog,” she mutters through her hands. “It’s terrible. It presses on me, and I can’t breath. Just when I’m about to give up, I hear you or Ayato calling out to me. I try so hard to fight with all my might, but I don’t know which way is up or down. I don’t know how to get free. I’m drowning, but I don’t know on what. This is the first time I’ve been able to reassume control! I just want to… I don’t know! I want to see Ayato! He isn’t in his room. I haven’t found him, and I don’t even know where to  look. I hear him less and less. Please, Mai. I can’t keep going on like this!”

 

Mai feels mounting horror the longer she listens to Yui’s heartbroken voice. She subconsciously curls her hands into fists, going so far as to dig her nails into her palms. There’s no way she can help Reiji kill her friend. Not now that she knew Yui has been conscious this whole time. There **has** to be a way to save her.

 

“Mai!” Yui’s hands drop away from her face. The amount of horror on the blonde’s face is enough to send Mai’s heart racing so fast that her chest starts to hurt. “She’s…. She’s coming!”

 

Just like that, her heart completely stops. Mai flinches when the red flashes to green only to fade back to red. A look of pure pain floods, Yui’s face, and her hands lift to delve into her hair. “No, no, no, no! Please! This is my body!”

 

Yui’s voice echos off of the walls in a haunting manner. Her words begin to overlap with her screaming, causing it to become a jumbled mess. Just beneath the scent of delicious food, Mai can smell the scent of rotting flesh and blood. Her entire body tenses to the point of pain. She tries to shove her own fear aside and starts to stand in order to help her friend. Without warning, a hand lightly wraps around her wrist.

 

“Troublesome. You’re all so noisy,” Shuu states softly. Mai’s eyes snap to him. He sits upright and opens his blue eyes to gaze at Yui, who has begun to thrash.

 

“Shut up!” The voice that leaves Yui isn’t her own, but it’s not quite Cordelia's either. It’s a strange mixture of both, causing chills to rise along Mai’s arms.

 

Mai’s mouth open and close a couple of times. She wants to reach out to her friend, but she doesn’t think she can move an inch. All she could do is start to shake. Yui’s eyes snap open, and they are green, cold, and furious. Mai sucks in a deep breath and recoils backwards.

 

Without warning, everything goes black, then she’s falling forward. Confused, she starts to thrash, but her arms are suddenly pinned to her sides. She lets out a cry of surprise when her body hits something soft. Only moments later, something heavy lands on top of her, driving the air from her lungs in one painful swish. She gasps painfully, but the weight on her back prevents her from fully filling her lungs with precious oxygen. She struggles with all her might, but she can’t seem to get her arms free.

 

“Stop,” a voice mutters into her ear. Cool breath brushes the back of her neck. “So troublesome.”

 

Surprised, she stops a moment before she thrashes harder than before. “If you don’t let me up right now, Shuu, I swear to god…”

 

“He’s not real,” Shuu mutters before adjusting himself. Thankfully, she’s able to get a breath of sweet air before his weight drives it out again. Does he have to lay directly on top of her? Doesn’t he know he’s crushing her? She grits her teeth so hard they grind.

 

“I wasn’t asking about your belief system, you ass. You’re crushing me!” She snaps back at him feeling breathless.

 

“Hmph,” is the only response she gets from him. She struggles even harder, but it appears it doesn’t bother him. He’s taller and heavier than her, so all it does is waste what little breath and energy. She feels his head pressed against the back of one of her shoulders. His hands digs painfully into her stomach, making her food settle in a very uncomfortable way. One of his legs wraps around her leg, leaving both of hers spread awkwardly. In fact, her hip starts to ache, and she feels like throwing up. She’s forced to take shallow breaths, which is starting to make her to feel light headed. Shuu’s scent fills her nose due to being face down on his bed. She can feel his chest rise and fall in a clear rhythm against her back. She struggles for a moment, but she finally gives up and just lies beneath the frustratingly lazy vampire. Her eyes fill up with tears, and she lets out a shuddering breath. Yui’s in so much pain, that much is clear. What can she possibly do? How can she possibly help? What should she do?

 

Shuu’s blanket soaks up the tears that leak from her eyes. The blanket also drowns her sobbing, which uses the rest of her oxygen.

 

__________________________________________________________________

 

Her eyes open slowly, though they don’t want to. There’s an annoying sound coming from somewhere across the room. It must’ve been her alarm, but she has no desire to get up to turn it off. She’s proven wrong when the pounding begins again. Her stomach lurches painfully, and she has to bite her lip in order to keep the groan from leaving her mouth. She decides to focus on her surrounds rather than the pounding on the door and in her brain.

 

Her heart leap into her throat when she recognizes where she is. How did she get into Shuu’s room? She tries to quickly trace back what she can remember.

 

It crashes down on her suddenly, everything from her chat with Yui to what happened afterwards. She squeezes her eyes shut tightly and tries to shove her unease aside. First, she needs to get out of this room and away from whoever is pounding on the door. A soft, unfamiliar voice cuts through her thoughts. “Master Shuu, your presence is requested.”

 

A groan is the only reply the unfamiliar man gets. Unfortunately, it’s right against Mai’s shoulder blade, causing her to tense up.

 

“So noisy,” Shuu mutters. She flinches and tries to quickly wiggle away. To her surprise, she’s able to easily escape. That’s when she remembers he’d been crushing the life out of her. In fact, she’s positive she’d lost consciousness, not fallen asleep, thanks to him. She sits up and twists in order to face him, fighting bile and anger.

 

“Please, Master Shuu! Master Reiji said to fetch you!” the voice calls through the door. His voice shudders, making it painfully obvious that whoever the person is, he’s afraid.

 

Not that she blames him.

 

She’s frightened of Reiji, too.

 

Her gaze locks onto the door when the pounding gets even more insistent. “Master Shuu! Please wake up! You must get dressed!”

 

She turns her attention back to the vampire on the bed with her, who is clearly ignoring the distressed man. Unable to help herself, she says as sternly as she dares. “Shuu.”

 

He releases a soft sound and rolls to face away from her. She feels like something snaps deep inside of her. She’s now so completely powerless over every aspect of her life, and she’s **_not_ ** about to be ignored **_again_ **. Without a second thought, she launches herself at him. Despite the fact the impact is painful, she’s satisfied to hear the air rush from his lungs. A smile spreads over her face. “Get up!”

 

“Annoying,” Shuu states in a tone she’s never heard him use before. It sounds almost like he’s annoyed. Fear courses through her veins for a moment. She didn’t think he had any modes other than tired and exhausted. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees movement. Out of pure instinct, she ducks, pressing her body flat against his side just as his arm passes over her head. “Troublesome woman.”

 

She doesn’t waste any time popping back up and digging the heel of one hand just under his ribs; the other finds purchase in his hip. She braces herself quickly and gives a violent shove. He releases a soft noise that sounds like a groan, but she doesn’t care. It feels almost good to be physically getting her frustration out. She gives him another shove just as the man calls through the door once more. Unfortunately, she doesn’t account for Shuu rolling on his own. She’s pitched forward over the top of him awkwardly. She feels him shift again, and her heart leaps into her throat before racing painfully fast. The word danger keeps playing over and over in her brain. She has to get upright as soon as possible, but she’s not able to move fast enough.

 

Or to be more accurate, she didn’t know Shuu could move that fast. Her world shifts so suddenly she’s finds herself frustratingly dizzy again, and it takes her a moment to realize where she’s at. Once she does, her heart sinks to the very bottom of her stomach. In fact, it feels like it just falls out of her body completely.

 

Her hands are pinned beside her head, and Shuu is leaning over her. His hair falls around his face, casting it into shadow. He promptly sits on her hips, effectively eliminating her ability to knee him in the back or buck her body to try to throw him off balance. Instead, she settles for glaring up at him. That’s when she notices something truly terrifying. She can see his blue eyes despite the shadows, and it’s not just because they’re blue.

 

They’re glowing with that eerie light she’s come to associate with being bitten. Her breath sucks in and freezes in her body. He slowly draws closer to her. A small smirk spreads over his face. It’s not a psychotic one like Kanato, Laito, or even Ayato. It’s not the twisted, scary one from Reiji, and she’s not sure Subaru can be compared to anyone else.

 

It sends a terrified shudder down her spine. She’d gotten ahead of herself by attacking him. Shuu’s so lazy it’s easy to forget he’s a guy, and he’s a vampire. He’s much, much, much stronger than she is.

 

She forces a brave face and says. “It’s not fair to torment the poor guy.”

 

Tilting his head a little, he seems to allow his face to fall back into his mask of tired indifference. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get to relax, since his eyes are still glowing. She shifts, but he doesn’t allow her much room to wiggle. She barely bites back a snarl. It wouldn’t be smart to irritate him further. A lazy, yet amused look takes over his face, causing her eyes to narrow in suspicion. She’s seen that look before, and it never bodes well for her. Without warning, she thrusts her hips violently upward. Sadly, it doesn’t throw him off balance like she hoped it would.

 

“Master Shuu! Please!” The man calls through the door. Mai’s eyes flick in that direction, but she doesn’t dare turn her head. The last thing she wants is to have him assume she’s offering her blood up to him.

 

“He’s calling for you,” she gently says. Her eyes shift to meet his glowing blue ones.

 

“You ate in front of your host without offering to give him any. Do you know how rude that is?”

 

Unable to come up with an appropriate response, her mouth opens and closes a couple of times before it snaps shut with an audible sound. She gives him her best cold look, but it doesn’t work like intended. Instead, his face draws even closer, causing her mind to begin to race. She has to get out of this situation as soon as possible. She has to.

 

“I’m your guest, and I didn’t even cook the food. Wouldn’t it’ve been more rude to offer someone else’s food out? Besides, Yui asked if you were hungry,” Mai says. Her mind continues to turn, and she can’t seem to turn her mouth off. “You said you weren’t.”

 

“I never said that,” he lazily says. His face lowers even more, though it’s starting to look less threatening and more like he’s tired of sitting up. The man begins to desperately pounding on the door, but Mai no longer cares.

 

“You just slept. Which reminds me, you’re being unusually active right now, aren’t you?”

 

He lets out a soft chuckle, but it does nothing to ease her tension. His eyes narrow in a clearly playful manner. “I’m hungry.”

 

“Get up, and we can get some food for you,” Mai says, emphasizing her point by jerking on her wrists. To her absolute horror, he leans down until his head is buried in the blankets beside her head, and his chest is pressed against hers. She wiggles, but he just leans more weight onto her. Panic sets in when it gets harder to breathe. Her voice is clearly breathless when she gasps out. “Shuu! Please!”

 

“You’re going to be late, Master Shuu! Master Reiji is going to be furious!” The man calls desperately through the door. Mai wiggles a little, but it doesn’t do any good. She’s rewarded with more weight.

 

“Good god, are you a snake?” She gasps. She both hears and feels his chuckle. “You’re crushing me!”

 

“So tired,” is his muttered response. Fear coats her mouth, and she has to force herself to not start thrashing again. It won’t help her anyway. It’ll only fuel his twisted sense of humor. Instead, she takes a slow deep breath to calm herself in order to think clearly. The sound of a violin drifts from his headphones, and she closes her eyes, allowing the sound to wash over her.

 

“Hey, Shuu. You’re hungry, right?” She asks, hoping he’ll respond. Sadly, she gets nothing from him. After a few minutes of silence, she rolls her eyes upwards and mouths some choice words at the ceiling. Her anger helps to eradicate her fear. She feels his hair begin to tickle her cheek, causing an itching sensation. Unfortunately, his hands are still holding her wrists hostage, so she’s not even able to scratch at her face. She clears her throat and tries to sound gentle. “Why don’t we get up and stop that annoying pounding? It can’t be easy to listen to music with him yelling through the door.”

 

Not even that gets a response from him. She closes her eyes and tries to take a deep breath. Much to her frustration, she can’t fill her lungs all the way. This whole situation is uncomfortable and irritating. Each time the man hits the door, she feels like he’s beating on her skull. Thankfully, the pain is starting to dull. “Ok, let’s get up.”

 

She tries to keep her voice positive. That positive note quickly slips away when he doesn’t move. It’s all she can to bite back a growl while she silently seethes at the ceiling.

 

Finally, he shifts, drawing her attention back to him. She awkwardly wiggles so she can look in his direction. A bright blue eye peeks between golden strands. Hope shrivels and dies just as quickly as it blossomed. She has a nasty feeling she knows exactly what he’s about to say. His voice is barely audible. “I don’t have the energy to move to the kitchen to get food.”

 

“Oh….my….god….. How are you still alive? A person cannot be this fucking lazy and still be alive!” Mai practically screams. She starts to thrash. That’s short lived with his next words.

 

“Feed me.”

 

All movement stops. She finds herself panting and glaring at the ceiling. “Move, and I’ll go get you something from the kitchen.”

 

“Can’t,” he breathes. “No energy. Feed me here.”

 

She can’t even form a thought for a couple of seconds while her brain processes his request. She frowns and hopes she is jumping to conclusions. “What?”

 

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he shifts his face back into the blanket. Silence is broken by the man once again, but Mai finds him remarkably easy to ignore now. Her eyes narrow at the side of his head. When it becomes painfully clear he has no intention on answering or moving, she growls. “What do you mean, Shuu?”

 

He turns his face again, causing his nose to brush her hair. She flinches and leans her head as far away from him as she can. Unfortunately, the movement bares part of her neck to him. Thankfully, he’s not like Laito, so they end up in a strange staring contest. The pounding begins again, only it’s not the man’s voice this time.

 

“Good-for-nothing, I know you’re awake. Get out of bed. You have five minutes. Father is waiting for you downstairs. He wants to see all of us,” Reiji says coldly through the door. Mai feels every muscle in her body begin to tense. Tougo’s here? What’s he doing here? She feels a cold sweat breaking out, though she isn’t sure why. Tougo’s never hurt her. In fact, he’s extended a hand in what appears to be friendship.

 

Her eyes watch Shuu’s, though he seems to have not heard a single thing Reiji said. She shifts, and he adds the rest of his. Panic sinks its’ claws deep into her chest. They can’t keep his father waiting for long. The man is important and likely use to people throwing themselves at him. She swallows hard, but her fear forms a lump in her throat. She breathlessly says, “Fine. Make it quick.”

 

“Hm?” Irritation spikes for a moment, but she’s able to quickly shove it to the back of her mind.

 

“Drink a little. Not much. I don’t want to be pale or passing out or anything.” She’s breathless by the end of her speech, causing her to get frustrated. Thankfully, she’s able to bite  back any retort. She feels and hears him chuckle again. Her teeth find her lip, and she closes her eyes to wait for the pain.

 

It never comes. Instead, he releases one of her hands. Her eyes snap open, and she feels him lifts himself off of her. She doesn’t dare hope it’ll be over that easy, so she cautiously opens one eye to look up at him. At this point, he’s sitting back on her hips like before. His eyes are still glowing, causing a cold feeling to settle in the pit of her stomach. A few seconds of tense, awkward silence pass between them before she forces herself to ask the question floating around her mind. “Well?”

 

He doesn’t move. The seconds turn into a minute. She needs to get this over with, but Shuu seems to have only one gear, his own. In utter frustration, she takes her free hand to pull her hair out of the way and drag her shirt to the side, exposing part of her shoulder. He release a soft chuckle and leans down.

 

“Since you’re so eager to expose yourself to me, I’ll take you up on the offer,” he mutters softly. Anger flashes through her, and she opens her mouth to deny it. This whole situation is all his fault. Sadly, she doesn’t get a chance to say anything, since his fangs puncture her skin. Her breath sucks in sharply, and she closes her eyes. To her surprise, it doesn’t hurt any more than getting a shot, nor does it feel like he’s digging his fangs as deep as they will go. Her eyes remain closed, but she feels her heart skip a beat.

 

It’s over before she knows it. She feels the bed shift, and his weight is completely gone. She slowly opens her eyes, though she’s barely able to bite back a startled cry threatening to rip itself from her throat upon finding herself looking up into Reiji’s clearly disapproving, red eyes. A quick glance around the room reveals Shuu’s nowhere to be found.

 

“Get up,” Reiji coldly states. She doesn’t wait to be told twice. She scrambles up and off the bed. Much to her mounting panic, he doesn’t wait for her. He stiffly turns toward the door, so she hurries after him. Due to his height, his legs are longer and easily carry him down the hallway at a brisk pace. She straightens her shirt while rushing after him. Once she catches up with him, she chances a glance at the side of his face, but she can’t read anything past his carefully placed mask.

 

After a short time, she finds herself standing in a room with several maids, whose heads are bowed. On a headless mannequin, there’s a dark blue dress. The material ripples around where the breasts go, before running to the opposite hip. There’s a see through, loose, almost lace, cover over the rest of the form fitting dress. It reaches all the way to the floor, where it’ll hide the shoes. Functionless sleeves cling to the middle of the upper arm. Mai’s eyes slowly shift to look at Reiji, but he’s only focused giving orders to the silent maids.

 

“You have twenty minutes,” he states before turning to sweep out of the room without glancing back at Mai.

 

“W….wait. What?” Mai stutters before hands seem to seize her from all directions. She struggles, but they don’t even seem to notice. It’s not long before she finds herself in the bathroom. Upon seeing steam rolling off the still water in the tub, she digs her heels in and leans as far back as she possibly can. “I showered not long ago! I’m clean!”

 

It does nothing to stop them from tearing at her clothing. Fear coats her tongue in a disgusting, coppery flavor. Or maybe in her panic, she bit her tongue. She’s not entirely sure. Either way, she fights as hard as she can. She doesn’t want to be undressed by these strange women, and she doesn’t want to be forced into the tub either.

 

“Oh my,” one of them say. Warm fingers trace over Mai’s shoulder, causing her to flinch at the slight sting. She hears them starting to mutter to one another.

 

“Master Reiji is not going to like that.”

 

“How do we cover that?”

 

“Concealer?”

 

“It’s clear he’s not the one who put it there.”

 

“He said she stinks, so I believe it’s safe to assume the one who left that mark is the one who stinks.”

 

“Wait,” Mai tries again. She’s interrupted by a rough shove, which sends her sprawling into the steaming tub. Thankfully, it’s large, keeping her from banging her head or limbs on the sides. She makes the mistake of not closing her eyes and opening her mouth, causing burning water to run into her mouth, nose, and eyes. Pain rushes through her. She thrashes and rips her body out of the scalding water. She spits what she can out and hacks up the rest. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get long to recover. At some point during her coughing fit, a maid had dumped some shampoo in her hair and lathered it up. Two sets of hands find their way onto her shoulders and her ankles. She only gets a second to get a lung full of air and close her eyes before she’s plunged back under the water. It feels like her skin is peeling off due to the heat, and she struggles with all her might. To her absolute horror, she finds multiple hands holding her under the water, while fingers roughly wash the soap from her hair. It feels like chunks of hair is being ripped out, but she’s sure it just feels that way because she’s in panic mode. Her lungs begin to burn with the need to breathe, so she clenches her eyes shut and tries to arch her body. It doesn’t work, so she switches to clawing at the hands holding her down. Unfortunately, she earns a vicious tug on her hair as a reward. Due to the pain, she makes the mistake of opening her mouth to release a gargled scream.

 

Thankfully, not much water goes down her throat by the time she is ripped out of the water. She lets out a sputtering cough to help clear her airways again. It takes a few minutes to regain her breath, during which the maids begin to scrub her with rough feeling soap. She lets out a couple of whimpers before pleadingly saying. “Please stop! This isn’t how you bathe someone! Please, I can bath myself. Please stop!”

 

“I’m sorry, miss,” one of the maids says softly. “Reiji requires a certain level of cleanliness when it comes to his father. He asked us to specifically shower each of you in the household.”

 

Mai cringes at the the thought, but she continues to beg. Thankfully, the bath ends quickly after that. Much to her embarrassment, they don’t miss an inch of her body, nor do they let her dry herself.

 

“What is happening?” Mai asks, biting back tears of frustration and embarrassment. Her skin’s a very vivid, red color, and she’s surprised to not find any scratches from the soap. She’s guided back to the previous room where the women begin to dress her. “Can’t you tell me?”

 

None of them even bother to look up. Thankfully, the dress isn’t as tight as it appears to be. In fact, the material has a small amount of stretch to it, so it’s painless to put on and move in. After she’s dressed, she’s guided to a chair, where they proceed to brush, then twist her hair into an intricate bun while putting makeup on her. None of them say a word, so Mai finally gives up talking.

 

The last pieces are a dark blue beaded necklace, with a matching bracelet for her right hand, and a pair of black toeless heels consisting of mostly thin straps. They mutter together about putting earrings in, but they decide against it, much to Mai’s relief. They drag her to her feet and start to shove her out the door. She stumbles, only to be drug up painfully once again.

 

“Ballroom, hurry. They’re waiting. Hurry!”

 

That’s how she finds herself tottering awkwardly down the hallway. She’s worn heels before, but these ones are higher than she’s used to. She finds her way to some stairs and stops to stare down them.

 

“Oh god, I’m going to break an ankle,” she softly whines to herself. She considers sitting down, taking the heels off, and proceeding without them. They’re already hurting her feet, and the straps are digging painfully into her skin. She isn’t sure how else she can do this. She lets out a cry of surprise when and arm threads through hers. Her eyes turn to find very familiar eyes smiling back at her. Tougo uses his other hand to pat her forearm.

 

“Hello, dear. Shall I escort you to the dance?” He kindly asks. She opens her mouth to refuse, but he’s already walking down the stairs, causing her to have to follow him to avoid losing her balance.

 

“Dance?” Her voice peaks awkwardly, causing her to flinch. Still, she doesn’t know anything about a dance. If she were to be honest, she didn’t know how to dance. No one mentioned anything. Tougo releases a pleasant laugh.

 

“Of course! It’s been so long since we had more than one guest in this house. I thought this would be the perfect time to celebrate.” His eyes flash mischievously, causing Mai’s skin to crawl. Why is this happening now? She quickly looks down to avoid looking into his eyes, since she always seems to lose herself when she does. She tries to focus solely on putting her feet carefully on each stair. His voice drops a couple of octaves, much like Laito’s, when he says. “You look very beautiful tonight.”

 

“Thank you,” she robotically states. Everything feels so awkward. Not the undressing you with his eyes awkward, but it isn’t much better. It feels like she’s being laughed at, but she doesn’t see a joke anywhere. She swallows hard and tries to shove the thoughts of all the movies where dances involved some form of humiliation. It won’t help to freak herself out more than she already is. She’ll roll an ankle and fall down the stairs or something.

 

“There are so many important people at this dance,” Tougo says when they reach the bottom of the stairs. Much to Mai’s displeasure, he doesn’t release her arm. “I’m very happy to introduce you to them. There are actors, musicians, and artists. Ah, I have a surprise for you as well.”

 

She sees him move out of the corner of her eye, but she doesn’t look up at him. Instead, she keeps her gaze focused solely on the ground below her. “I see. Thank you for the opportunity to meet so many important people.”

 

She isn’t sure if it’s the appropriate response. Thankfully, he doesn’t reprimand her, so she assumes it’s alright. He goes to explain the variety of food, entertainment, drinks, and much more that she tunes out. In fact, she barely pays attention to the direction they’re walking. Her thoughts are full of the various ways she can escape once she gets there.

 

Without much warning, they pause before a set of double doors she’s positive she’s never seen before, though she assumed she’s been all over the mansion by now. With a jolt, she realizes that she never saw a ballroom, or even anything that resembled one. She doesn’t get a chance to dwell on it, since the doors swing open and she’s assaulted with a variety of smells.

 

The sweet smell of baked goods.

 

The smokey smell of roasted meat.

 

The choking scent of so many different perfumes and colognes crammed in one space.

 

Her heart skips a beat when every head turns to look in her direction. A soft tug has her stumbling after Tougo. She wants to say she’s easily eclipsed by him, but it’s clear there are several people eyeing her, shaping her up almost. All she can do is stare at her feet while she’s drug alongside the vampire. She chances a glance up when not a sound comes from the room. She sucks in a breath finding the whole scene unnerving. There are so many people in every direction, yet not a single one seems keen on breaking the silence. They just silently part for Tougo and her. Finally, they seem to reach the center of the room, and Tougo pulls his arm from hers. She jumps when he brings his hands together in a loud clap.

 

“Don’t let my tardiness stop your fun!” He says with a chuckle. “Let go of the world’s struggles today! This day is about having fun! Remember to eat and drink your fill! The announcement will come at the end of the night! Please look forward to it!”

 

It seems like a switch is flipped. All around her, people seem to come alive. The low tones of men talking amongst themselves or complimenting women. The higher voices of women while they gossip and laugh. A hand finds her upper back, and she finds herself being guided through the crowd, who parts easily for Tougo. His voice is low in her ear when he mutters softly. “There’s someone who is dying to meet you, my dear.”

 

She chances a glance up at him, but he’s not looking at her. His gaze is focused elsewhere. She turns her own eyes in that direction. Something catches her eye, causing her to suck in her breath. Standing by herself with slender arms pressed tightly against her chest is a beautiful woman with white hair that’s tied in a bun on the left side of her head. A loose strand hangs all the way to her waist. Her black and white diamond endowed dress seems to float around her. Despite her beauty, she’s blankly watching the people around her, almost like no one is home. She looks so familiar it takes Mai a moment to really figure out.

 

She looks like Subaru. Mai’s mouth suddenly becomes dry, and nervousness sets in. Tougo isn’t seriously going to introduce her to Subaru’s mother, is he? The woman’s gaze turns to stare at Mai for only a moment before turning to Tougo. Her eyes seem to light up for just a moment. Her voice is gentle, barely audible beneath the drone of conversation. “Karlheinz.”

 

Confusion fills Mai for a moment, but she doesn’t get long to dwell on it. Tougo pulls himself from Mai, not that she fought to keep a hold of him. He approaches the woman, takes her shoulders in his hands, and kisses each of her cheeks. Much to Mai’s surprise, she does nothing to return the affection. Instead, her eyes drift toward Mai, causing Mai’s breath to hitch in her throat. Tougo wraps his arm loosely around beautiful woman’s waist before turning to fully face Mai. “Mai, my dear, this is my third wife, Christa. Christa, my love, this is the girl I mentioned before. The one who’s friends with Subaru.”

 

At the mention of Subaru, it seems like a change overcomes her. Her red eyes grow frighteningly cold, and she gives Mai an almost disgusted look, causing Mai’s skin to begin to crawl. Her voice is once again barely audible, “I see.”

 

Tougo presses a kiss to her temple. Mai turns her gaze away when Tougo leans down to mutter something into Christa’s ear. After a moment, she chances a glance back at the couple only to get swept away by Tougo once more. She risks a glance back, but she finds Christa staring off into the distance. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get much time to dwell on it. Tougo wastes no time in beginning to introduce her to so many different people that she loses track of names, faces, and even what Tougo is introducing her as. She simply grins and nods when she sees them looking at her. The rest of the time, her thoughts are preoccupied with the fact that her feet, ankles, and calves are beginning to burn fiercely. Maybe she can use this as an excuse to escape.

 

A hand lands on her waist so abruptly, that she sucks in a sharp breath and looks up to find Tougo’s amused look. “Shall we dance?”

 

She doesn’t get a chance to answer before she is swept up in a dance she has no idea how to do. She stumbles along with his confident steps. Her feet step on his every other step, but he shows no signs of discomfort. In fact, he seems to be enjoying himself. Mai, on the other hand, is a burning ball of embarrassment. She can’t seem to find the right timing, and she can hear the spectators muttering to each other. Tears form in her eyes, and she finds herself whispering pleadingly. “Can I sit down?”

 

She can feel warm blood working its’ way down one of her ankles, and she’s positive she can feel blisters forming on the bottoms of her feet. Every step is slowly becoming nothing short of agony. She can barely bite back the whimpers anymore. Tougo gives her yet another smile. “No, my dear. After all, we’re throwing this for you and Yui.”

 

Confusion fills her body, but she doesn’t get a chance to ask since he twists her into a agony filled spin. Her body collides with a solid one. Tougo’s hand releases hers, while an arm wraps around Mai’s waist, pulling her tight against the body she ran into. To her absolute relief, the person helping to support most of her weight, causing her feet to throb in time with her heartbeat, but it isn’t as agony filled as before.

 

“Ah, you came sooner than I thought you would. Do you have business with her?”

 

Mai lifts her head just enough to see who rescued her. Her breath leaves her body in a single rush of surprise when she finds who it is.

 

Reiji gives a curt nod before politely saying. “I need to borrow her for a moment, father. I hope you don’t mind. We had a previous engagement to talk about.”

 

Tougo releases a soft laugh before waving Reiji away and disappearing into the crowd. Much to Mai’s displeasure, she finds herself leaning into the dark haired vampire. Thankfully, he doesn’t say a word about it. Instead, he shifts her weight to his side. With an arm around her waist, he helps her limp out of the ball room. She finds herself in a room that is clearly meant for the party guests to rest. There are soft couches lining the walls but not much else. Reiji helps her to the nearest couch, which she flops down on with a grateful huff. She leans herself back and closes her eyes. She mutters soft thank you to the vampire, feeling truly grateful to be sitting down. He releases a nonchalant grunt before kneeling before her. Upon hearing the movement, she opens her eyes to watch him uneasily, but he gives her a cold look in response. His voice is barely above a whisper when he commands, “lift your dress.”

 

Mai feels a flush take over her face, but she does as he asks. After all, he doesn’t seem to be the type to do anything inappropriate when others might walk in on them. She balls her dress around her knees, careful to keep everything hidden anyway. Despite not wanting to truly know what they look like, she finds herself leaning forward just enough to look at her feet.

 

Reiji’s fingers expertly remove the straps while being surprisingly careful to not disturb the wounds more than they already are. Still, it causes her to bite her lip so hard she tastes blood. She makes a face and slowly opens her eyes, though she doesn’t remember when she closed them. Relief floods her body when the shoes are carefully removed. Reiji seems to be studying her feet in an almost detached way.

 

“Looks…...painful,” a voice states beside her. She flinches away before turning to meet Azusa’s calm gaze. “Ah. I’m…..sorry… I did…..not…..mean…...to startle…..you.”

 

She slowly shakes her head, but his gaze seems to lock onto her lips, causing unease to flood her body. Much to Mai’s relief, Reiji clears his throat, drawing Azusa’s attention to him. He gives Azusa an appraising look before saying with a detached tone. “If you’re here to help, stay with her while I retrieve something to clean this mess up.”

 

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Azusa slowly nod. Nervousness fills her, and she finds herself about to plead with Reiji not to leave her. Unfortunately, he’s gone before the words even make their way out, leaving Mai with the dark haired Mukami that she barely knows. She stares at her feet miserably. The silence is finally broken when Azusa shuffles closer to her. His voice lowers a little, and he softly asks her, “Doesn’t….it….feel...amazing?”

 

She lifts her gaze to give him a baffled look. That’s her biggest mistake. His fingers move faster than she would’ve thought possible. A finger probes one of the cuts, causing her to flinch away. When she jerks away, he lifts his finger to look at the blood covering them. Thoroughly frightened, she scoots as far as the couch allows her while watching him warily. Thankfully, he seems satisfied with just observing the droplets of blood on his fingertip. A sigh snaps her attention back to find Reiji standing there. He kneels down in front of her once more. With quick precise movement, he starts to clean one of her feet. She releases a soft whimper of pain and closes her eyes. She’s not sure what he’s using, but it feels like it stings much more than it should. After a few seconds, she feels him pull away from that foot. She takes this chance to open one of her eyes to observe him. He seems to be allowing the skin to dry while he prepares a cream of some kind. Jumping on this chance, Mai quickly says, “Thank you, Reiji.”

 

His red eyes lift to meet hers with a stern look before looking back down at the foot he’s working on. “I do not require a thank you.”

 

“But…” Mai starts, but she’s quickly cut off.

 

“You were making an embarrassment of our family. I could no longer stand by and watch it,” he states as if that’s the most natural answer. Stunned for a moment at his harsh words, she’s unable to say anything. Something presses against her side, causing her body to tense up. She glances over to find that Azusa has moved closer and is watching Reiji work. Silence settles over the three. After what feels like an eternity passes, both of her feet are bandaged, and her shoes are returned to her feet, much to her dismay. They weren’t tight before, but they weren’t loose either; however, they feel tight now. Reiji straightens and gazes down at Mai with complete indifference. His eyes flick over to Azusa, whose attention is still focused on Mai’s feet. The sound of Reiji’s voice draws her attention back to him. “This is the perfect opportunity. Guards are down, after all.”

 

Every muscle in her body tenses, and she finds herself shaking her head. “I can’t, Reiji.”

 

A stern frown takes over his face, but she tries to ignore it. Instead, she gives him a pleadingly, yet determined, look of her own. His voice is barely audible. “This was discussed before.”

 

“No, she’s still there. I can’t…” A sharp look from Reiji causes her gaze to flick over to Azusa before looking back at Reiji. He holds out a hand. She hesitates for a moment before reluctantly reaching out and taking it, allowing him to pull her up. She tries to keep her face neutral when she feels something brush her palm and quietly closes her hands over it. Still, she can feel her heart starting to race, and her body starts to shake. Despite Reiji’s obvious distrust of Azusa, she can’t help but try to plead once more. “It won’t….”

 

She’s unable to finish the question. Thankfully, Reiji seems to understand what she’s trying to ask. “Not her. If it doesn’t work, we shall leave it to those three once more.”

 

He stiffly turns and leaves without much explanation on what he meant. Mai clenches the small, palm sized bottle of mysterious liquid with a foreboding feeling. She jumps when she feels fingers touching her back and spins to face Azusa. Despite the bandages, she still feels the straps rubbing the raw skin, and her muscles still ache. She desperately wants to take her shoes off, but she doesn’t dare yet.

 

“I….can….hear...your…..stomach…” Azusa says. To her surprise, she sees an amused light in his eyes. He gestures to the door, but she hesitates for a moment. A frown spreads over his face after a couple of seconds of silence. It’s quickly followed by an almost sad look. “Are you…..afraid…...of me?”

 

Despite herself, she finds herself shaking her head. He tilts his head a little, but she quickly turns away and makes her way toward the door. She doesn’t bother looking back to see if he’s following. The sound of music floods her ears the second she opens the door, causing her to realize she hadn’t heard any sound while in the sitting room. She finally chances a glance over her shoulder to find Azusa is indeed following her. She takes a deep breath to steady herself and mentally prepares to make her way over to where the food is. She has to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from grimacing with every step. Somehow, she manages to make it to the table without any mishaps. Her stomach gives a growl at the mouth watering assortment of food laid out before her. Her eyes scan over everything from raw vegetables to steaming lobster. She settles for taking a plate and getting some shrimp, lobster, a few things that smelled good, but she didn’t know the name of, and a couple different pieces of raw vegetables. Azusa follows along behind her, but he takes less than her. For a moment, she feels almost embarrassed.

 

“There you are,” a vaguely familiar voice says sternly behind her. She releases an awkward sounding gasp and almost drops her plate. She spins as quickly as she dares to find a dark haired boy that she doesn’t immediately recognize.

 

“Ruki…” Azusa says. Yuuma seems to materialize out of the crowd with a disgusted, yet frustrated look on his face. Mai’s heart starts to race, and she clenches her plate tightly. The bottle presses awkwardly in her hand, and she finds herself wishing she had pockets or something.

 

“We were worried about you, Azusa. Don’t just disappear without a word like that,” Ruki reprimands, though he sounds far from concerned. Azusa mutters a soft apology, but he sounds as sincere as Ruki. To Mai’s relief, he doesn’t seem to have the slightest interest in her. Yuuma releases a growl, likewise, not interest in Mai’s presence. His brown eyes move from Azusa to drift over the crowd. He draws back a lip.

 

“This place reeks,” he grunts. “I never saw the point of these stupid aristocratic parties. All they’re trying to prove is how rich they are.”

 

“Yuuma,” Ruki states. Yuuma’s irritated gaze turns to Ruki before focusing on Mai just she lifts a shrimp to her mouth with her fingers. She freezes midchew when her eyes meet his. The terrifying grin he gives her sends a chill down her spine.

 

“Don’t let Ruki see you do that,” Yuuma teasingly states. Mai chews once while her eyes slide over to meet Ruki’s impartial gaze. She quickly chews her food and swallows it before turning her attention back to Yuuma.

 

“I’m sorry?” He releases a laugh, making Mai feel awkward. They’re all acting so familiar with her, but she doesn’t recall ever having gotten close to them. It just gets even weirder when she feels Azusa press into her side again. His already soft voice is barely audible when he mutters.

 

“Ruki….doesn’t…….like us……..eating…….with…..our hands.” Mai turns her head just enough to look at Azusa. That turns out to be a mistake, since she hadn’t seen Kou approaching. She feels her plate shift just in time to see Kou popping a couple of stolen shrimp in his mouth.

 

“H...Hey!” Mai stutter astonished that he had eaten right off her plate.

 

“Kou, that was rude,” Ruki states, though it appears he’s distracted.

 

“Ah, she doesn’t mind, do you?” He gives her a pleasant smile, to which she replies with her best glare. Mai notices Kou moving and twists to hide her plate behind Azusa’s back. He gives her an almost realistically hurt look, and she barely resists the urge to stick her tongue out at him. He seems to notice and sneers at her before stealing something off of Azusa’s plate. To her surprise, Azusa doesn’t even react; he just stares down at his plate.

 

“Kou!” Yuuma snaps. His palm meets the back of Kou’s head, who releases a snarl in Yuuma’s direction. “Knock it off! If you’re hungry, get your own damn plate!”

 

Kou lifts his chin and glares up at Yuuma. “It’s survival of the fittest here. If you can’t defend your goods, you don’t deserve them.”

 

“Huh?!” Yuuma snarls. He takes a threatening step toward Kou.

 

“Enough,” Ruki states sternly. “Karlheinz.”

 

That seems to change the atmosphere of the entire group. They all seem to be looking in the same direction all at once. She turns her attention in that direction to find Tougo slowly making his way toward them. Once again, Mai’s left scrambling for the memory of whether or not she’s heard Tougo called Karlheinz before. Her musings are left short lived due to the fact that she decides to escape before he arrives at the group. The last thing she wants to do is make a bigger fool out of herself by being forced to dance again. Thankfully, she’s fully away by the time he reaches them. She quickly eats the food she got and takes an offered napkin from a passing wait staff while passing off her plate. She also accepts a drink and drifts slowly toward the dessert table, trying her best to avoid eye contact.

 

Maybe if she doesn’t look at anyone, she won’t be asked to dance. Thankfully, she’s able to successfully wiggle her way over to the dessert table. Like the previous one, it’s got simple things such as cake, cookies all the way up to delicious gourmet treats that she doesn’t know the name of. She settles for a piece of cheesecake before turning to observe the ballroom. The center is reserved for dancing, and there are quite a few couples gracefully floating along the floor. Along the edges of the round room, she finds groups of people huddled together in what appeared to be serious groups. She takes a sip of her drink before resting it on the end of the desert table, far from any food items and taking a couple of bites of her dessert. It appears business went on, even at a party. The band plays on a slightly raised stage, allowing the music to easily drift over the crowd.

 

That’s when she spots someone who makes her heart stop. Cordelia is standing in her friend’s body. It’s clad in a tight, form fitting, sleeveless black dress with matching elbow high gloves. It’s adorned with a silver chain around her waist. On the left side of her chest, a large red rose is pinned to it. In her hair is another one. Mai suddenly feels like the cheesecake turns to ash in her mouth, and her feet feel like lead. The bottle seems to burn her skin, and she finds herself doubting Reiji. What if this kills her friend?

 

Strange memories of throwing up blood float to the surface.

 

She lets out a yelp of startled pain when her head gives a painful throb, and the plate falls from her hand. Her mouth goes dry when she hears a voice cruelly whispering. “Kill her.”

 

She spins around, expecting to find Reiji, but she finds no one. “Kill her!”

 

This time she’s sure she heard someone whispering directly into her ear, but she can’t figure out what they are saying. Her entire body tenses, and she concentrates as hard as she can. This time, she is able to clearly understand it. It’s one of the white women. “Kill her. End this!”

 

“Run!”

 

“This is a trap!”

 

“You’re in danger!”

 

“Kill her!”

 

Her vision swims when a splitting pain pierces her head, and she stumbles. There are so many conflicting words in her mind that she’s finding it hard to focus on anything. Her hand lifts to touch her forehead. The music suddenly seems too loud. The smells seem so much sharper, and her throat starts to burn. It feels almost like she inhaled smoke. Her body starts to heat up, but she feels ice cold at the same time. She releases a soft whimper and presses both hands to her forehead, careful to keep the bottle in her hand. She doesn’t want to trust Reiji, but all the overlapping voices are driving her crazy. She has to do something. Reiji’s right. This can’t go on. What would Yui want? Would it be better if she passed away?

 

Wouldn’t that be terrible? Could Mai really live with that?

 

She gives her head a hard shake. That’s when arms snake around her waist, pulling her back into a solid body. All at once, everything seems to just disappear. The room no longer spins, and she feels like she’s not suffocating under the sounds and smells anymore. The pain in her head is also ebbing away. Laito’s low, seductive voice rumbles through her ear. “Hello, sweetheart.”

 

His lips brush her neck, bringing everything into sharp focus. She pulls away and turns to face him with a frown. The second her eyes meet his face, her stomach drops out. That same blank look is in his eyes. He’s giving her his usual flirtatious smirk, but it seems almost lifeless to her. She frowns up at him, but he doesn’t seem to notice, or perhaps he doesn’t care. His voice isn’t low and seductive like she thought. It holds that low, dangerous tone that sends chills up and down her spine. “You look delectable.”

 

His finger brush over the hidden marks on her shoulder, causing her to flinch. A dark look passes over his face before a dangerously playful look appears over his face. His fingers move to trace the necklace. “Want to play a game?”

 

“No,” she carefully and clearly states. Something’s practically screaming at her not to let him start a game. It won’t end well for her. She just knew it.

 

“Awww, it’ll be fun, I promise,” He coos at her. He takes a step forward, causing her to stumble back a couple of steps. He releases a dark chuckle and says, “You aren’t as smart as you think you are.”

 

His hand raises just enough to gesture at her hand. A dark look passes over his face again before it morphs into a playful grin once more. “Reiji made something for you, didn’t he?”

 

“I….” She finds herself unable to form words. He tilts his head a little and glances around at the people surrounding them. His voice lower and takes on a dark tone that causes her blood to freeze.

 

“I’m tired of the games. I’ll make you a deal. If you can keep away from me for the rest of the night, I won’t take your poison away. I’ll even help you take it. If I catch you, you give into me completely.”

 

“Who’d agree to that?” She practically sneers back. To her utter disappointment, he doesn’t respond in the way she wants him too.

 

“I’ll give you a ten minute headstart, love.” He gives her a cold smirk before sinking back into the crowd. Full blown panic settles in her body. She doesn’t take his threat lightly. This means she doesn’t have time to weigh the pros and cons of Reiji’s trustworthiness. She doesn’t want to be the one to drink the liquid, since she has no idea what it really is. She doesn’t want to get caught either. She has to act right now. Her gaze snaps back to where she thought she’d seen Cordellia. Unfortunately, the imposter is gone. She takes a deep breath and plunges into the crowd to start her mission.

 

She only has a ten minute head start to begin with, and she didn’t get a chance to ask about the rules of the game. She has no idea what he means by ‘catching’ her.

 

Frustration fills her body, but she pushes the disturbing thoughts away. She has to focus on the task at hand.


End file.
